Rapper XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Florida on Monday (June 18), police have said.
The 20-year-old rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was leaving a motorcycle dealership shortly before 4pm local time when two armed suspects approached him in an apparent robbery.
He was shot and the two men fled the scene in a dark coloured SUV.
The music star was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The adult male victim has been confirmed as 20 year old Jahseh Onfroy aka rapper #XXXTentacion.
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) June 18, 2018
Police are searching for the two armed suspects and have urged anyone who witnessed the shooting to come forward.
Anyone with information is urged to contact #BSO homicide detectives Walt Foster or John Curcio at (954) 321-4210 or @crimestoppers2, anonymously, at (954) 493-TIPS #XXTENTACION. pic.twitter.com/J97xZ9cHHz
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) June 18, 2018
XXXTentacion's short career had been overshadowed by alleged incidents of domestic violence and at the time of his death he was facing 15 felony charges.
They included counts of false imprisonment, aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and domestic battery by strangulation, for alleged incidents involving his ex-girlfriend in 2016.
The rapper released two studio albums, 17 and ?, with the latter reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart in March.
The album's single Sad! peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 15 weeks on the charts.
In May, he was one of the artists temporarily banned from Spotify's in-house playlists due to its policy of not promoting artists with a history of alleged hateful conduct.
Tributes to the controversial rapper have been pouring in from fellow musicians in the wake of his death.
Kanye West said "I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here".
rest in peace 🙏🙏🙏 I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here thank you for existing pic.twitter.com/QU7DR3Ghbw
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) June 18, 2018
Rapper Big Sean tweeted that his "heart dropped" when he heard the news, saying "I feel like we only got to see a glimpse of his artistry".
My heart dropped when I heard about @xxxtentacion, I feel like we only got to see a glimpse of his artistry. I didn’t know him personally but I respect how passionate he was about his music and message. Nobody deserves this kind of ending. gone too soon, damn! RIP
— Sean Don (@BigSean) June 19, 2018
Tennessee rapper Juicy J, hip-hop star Tyga and the DJ Diplo were among the other music stars to tweet their condolences.
Prayers up for 🙏🏿 @xxxtentacion
— juicy j (@therealjuicyj) June 18, 2018
Really sad Rip xxx.. so sad to lose good artist. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— T-Raww (@Tyga) June 18, 2018
Thanks for inspiring me. pic.twitter.com/BmX3ya6Hmx
— diblo (@diplo) June 18, 2018
