Reports have surfaced that police in Montgomery, Alabama are investigating the killing of 22-year-old Glenn Thomas, known in the rap world as Doe B, a protege of Grammy Award-winning rapper T.I., and one other person, slain in a shooting on Saturday that also wounded six other people.
Police say the shooting took place around 1am, around 800 meters north of Alabama State University. 21-year-old Kimberle Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene, while Thomas was taken to Baptist Medical Center South where he was later pronounced dead.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, DJ Frank White, a Montgomery resident who managed Doe B’s career, said the shooting took place at Montgomery’s Centennial Hill Bar & Grill and that Thomas, a father who had a third child on the way, was not performing at the time.
In a statement, police said that officers found six other victims with gunshot wounds, all of whom were taken to local hospitals for treatment. Lt Regina Duckett told The Montgomery Advertiser that those wounded were listed in stable condition on Saturday morning. No arrests had been made.
In a statement to HipHopDX, DJ Frank White said, “The world has lost a great person and a genius artist way to soon,” adding, “Doe’s work ethic was incredible,” DJ Frank White says. “He still has over 200 unreleased hits. His memory will live on.” He said that Thomas had been shot three times.
Condolences have started pouring in, with The Blueprint Group, who previously worked with the rapper, issuing a statement saying, “Doe B was an amazing young man, in every sense of the word,” and rapper Drake and head of Thomas’ label, T.I., expressing their grief via Twitter.
UPDATE: According to HipHopDX, Montgomery mayor Todd Strange has ordered the Centennial Hill Bar & Grill, which has previously been the site of violence and the subject of multiple cautions from the office of the city, shut down as a function of a city order.
The deaths of Thomas and Johnson mark the city’s 47th and 48th homicides of the year, with Strange explaining the decision to close the venue coming as a result of these deaths and “repeated cautions,” writing in a statement:
“We do not take this action lightly, but believe this decision is compelled by clear evidence that continued operation of this establishment poses an imminent threat to the public’s safety.
“Just this morning a 21-year-old young woman and a 22-year-old young man were shot and killed there, and six other young adults were shot and wounded. The shootings occurred despite the presence of the club’s security and repeated cautions from the City.”
Strange added that he believed “it is not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ the next tragic incident occurs at this business.” While the individual or group responsible for the shooting has not yet been apprehended, the mayor assured the public an investigation was underway.
“The Montgomery Police Department’s investigation into this senseless shooting is proceeding, and we have every confidence that the individual or individuals responsible will be identified and apprehended,” he wrote. “We are working to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
