Cops Say Argument Preceded Fatal Shooting of Migos Rapper Takeoff

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Tuesday afternoon that an argument preceded the fatal shooting of Migos rapper Takeoff but he didn’t believe the notoriously “peaceful” rapper would have been involved.

The shock slaying occurred around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday after a private party of about 40-50 people had wrapped up at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling in Midtown. Venue employees told police that after the party ended, a large group of people gathered at the front door and it led to an argument that ended with shots being fired. At least two firearms were used, Finner said.

Takeoff’s uncle and fellow Migos star Quavo was filmed desperately calling for help to save the 28-year-old rapper’s life, but police declared Takeoff dead at the scene from a gunshot wound in or near his head.

TMZ reported that Takeoff—real name Kirshnik Khari Ball—and Quavo were playing dice when some sort of altercation erupted. However, texts circulating on social media—that haven't been verified by The Daily Beast—suggested that Takeoff was a bystander who was caught in the crossfire.

When asked about the suggestion he was caught in the crossfire, Finner said, “I don’t want to speculate but I do want to say, based on what people say about him, he’s well-respected, non-violent. I would not expect him to be involved... We have no reason to believe that he was involved in anything criminal at the time.”

He said people had described Takeoff as a “very peaceful, loving, great entertainer.”

Houston police confirmed that another two victims, an unnamed 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, were shot in the incident. They were taken to a hospital in private vehicles and have non-life-threatening injuries.

Finner said it’s not clear what sparked the argument after the party on the third-floor of the entertainment venue wrapped up.

“At some point I think there was a disagreement on something, but we’re still trying to determine that and work that out,” Finner said.

No suspects have been named, and no arrests have been made, but “multiple shell casings” confirmed at least two guns were involved.

“We do have at least two individuals pulling triggers around here,” Finner said. “We're going to get ‘em into custody.”

Houston Police Sgt. Michael Harrington said that a majority of witnesses, most of whom were in their 20s, fled before police arrived, and police are still trying to track them down. He also implored the public to forward evidence to detectives.

“Phone calls, text messages, tweets, vines, videos, we need all of y’all to send those to us so we can solve this case,” Harrington said.

Detectives are also reviewing video taken from the scene, but Finner said the best chance police have at finding the killer or killers is by a witness coming forward.

“Someone knows exactly who it was,” Finner said. “I'm really confident somebody is going to step up.”

Quavo—real name Quavious Keyate Marshall—was reportedly not hurt. The third member of Migos, Offset—a.k.a. Kiari Kendrell Cephus—is Quavo’s cousin and husband to rapper Cardi B.

Bona fide superstars, Migos came out of Atlanta and have been fixtures on the national hip-hop scene for the better part of a decade. With trademark mega-hits like “T-Shirt,” their status as music royalty was perhaps best captured when Donald Glover dubbed them the Beatles of his generation after winning a Golden Globe for his show Atlanta in 2017.

Quavo and Takeoff released their first full-length album without Offset, titled Only Built For Infinity Links, earlier this month, prompting speculation that Migos had broken up. The video for the single “Messy”—in which Quavo and Takeoff walk around a haunted house—dropped just hours before the shooting.

“Offset lost a brother he’ll never get to fix things with. For nothing,” rapper VI Seconds tweeted. “Quavo lost his nephew. For nothing. Rap lost a good one. For nothing. All this bloodshed. For nothing. It’ll never make sense.”

Mourning for Takeoff reverberated across America’s hip hop community on Tuesday. With rappers’ deaths—like Young Dolph and PnB Rock—spiking within the last year, Desiigner posted to his Instagram story that he’s done rapping.

“I’m done, I’m done, I’m done,” Desiigner, whose real name is Sidney Royel Selby III, said in an Instagram live while bawling. “I can’t live like this no more.”

Houston rapper Ugly God, who collaborated with Takeoff on the song “Hold Up,” said that Migos “changed the whole cadence of rap when they came out.”

“RIP Takeoff,” he tweeted. “This man has been staying out the way, keeping it minimal, and minding his own business since the beginning. If that’s not enough to be left alone, then [I don’t know].”