Third rapper shot and killed in L.A. County in less than a month was found dead in planter
An Inglewood rapper died after he was shot multiple times by someone inside a dark SUV in Koreatown late Monday night, according to reports.
KTTV-TV, Channel 11 identified the victim as Half Ounce, who had released an album in May called “Gang Bangin.”
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office on Tuesday confirmed the victim’s identity as Latauriisha O’Brien, Half Ounce’s real name.
Half Ounce, 36, is the third rapper shot and killed in Los Angeles County in less than a month. On Sept. 12, rapper PnB Rock, whose real name was Rakim Allen, was fatally shot during a botched robbery for the 30-year-old’s jewelry while he was having lunch at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles in South Los Angeles.
On Sept. 24, Kee Riches, 23, whose real name was Kian Nellum, was shot and killed in Compton along with 29-year-old Robert Leflore Jr.
The shootings appear to be unrelated, but Los Angeles Police Department officials have said they’ve seen an increase in follow-home robberies, especially those targeting celebrities. Other artists, including Roddy Rich and Ice-T, have condemned violence in Los Angeles and the recent killings of hip-hop artists.
In the wake of PnB Rock’s killing, Ice-T tweets, ‘Why test the streets.’ L.A. rappers, he explains, have reasons why they don’t wear a lot of jewelry.
On Monday, police were called at about 11:30 p.m. after reports of shots being fired in the 700 block of South New Hampshire Avenue, where a man was heard screaming. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim in front of an apartment complex with gunshot wounds, according to the LAPD.
The man was found in a planter, OnScene.TV reported. The gunman, described as a Black male wearing dark clothing, is believed to have fled south in the SUV, police said.
A spokesperson with the LAPD said officials had not identified the victim. KTTV identified him as Half Ounce after reportedly speaking to his mother and pregnant wife.
The rapper’s wife reportedly told the TV station that she was on the phone with Half Ounce, who was walking with a friend, when she heard shots being fired.
A teenager and two adults have been charged with murder, robbery and other offenses in the killing of rapper PnB Rock at Roscoe’s in South L.A.
The friend reportedly ran away. An LAPD spokesperson said police could not confirm if the victim was being accompanied when the shooting took place.
Half Ounce had not been shy about his past, which included stints in county jail and links to the Piru gang.
Half Ounce said his music career started at age 11 after his mother arranged for him to meet Xzibit. In one 2013 interview, he said he wasn’t concerned about his gang ties with his music and was willing to collaborate with artists linked to rival gangs.
“I’m not banging on wax,” he said at the time. “I’m not banging on my music.”
The motive for Monday’s shooting was unclear, police said. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call LAPD detectives at (213) 382-9470.
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