American rapper Young Dolph was gunned down Wednesday while inside a cookie store in Memphis, Tennessee, local authorities said.
"On November 17, 2021 at 12:24 pm, Memphis police officers were called to the scene of a shooting" and "a male victim was located and pronounced dead at the scene," Memphis police said in a statement.
"Preliminary information indicates that the victim is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr.", better known by his stage name Young Dolph, authorities said.
Young Dolph, 36, born in Chicago and raised in Memphis, had just entered the Makeda cookie shop, where he used to be, when an armed individual appeared and shot him, local press reports.
Police said they have no information on the suspect at this time.
His car targeted by a hundred shots in 2017
The rapper made a name for himself with hits like “Major” and his album “Rich Slave” released in 2020 which quickly reached the top of the Billboard 200 music chart.
The artist had survived two shootings in 2017: one in Charlotte, North Carolina, during which his car had suffered a hundred shots according to the American media;
the other in Los Angeles where he had been hit by three bullets.
Many celebrities in the rap world have expressed their condolences on social networks, the American rapper Gucci Mane saying he is "devastated".
RIP to my friend Dolph this broke my heart
- Gucci Mane (@ gucci1017) November 17, 2021