Rapper Rollie Bands has been fatally shot outside his Tampa home, just minutes after directing a message to his critics on social media.
The music artist was emerging on the hip-hop scene in the Floridian city and beyond.
On Friday (22 July), he was pronounced dead after taking to Instagram with a defiant message for his detractors.
According to HipHopDX, the late rapper wrote in a post during the afternoon: "A lot of these n****s know where I live at fr.
“I sleep in peace. If a n**** want smoke I’m at my crib in 5 mins.”
Five minutes later, at around 3:30pm, Bands was allegedly shot once in the parking lot of his apartment complex. It is reported that the suspects fled in a vehicle immediately after.
Though Bands was rushed to hospital, medical staff were unable to revive him.
Police officers have reasoned against the incident being coincidental and believe that the victim and suspects were mutually familiar.
“At this time, the shooting does not appear random, as the suspects and victim are possibly known to each other,” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a report shared with the New York Post.
Fans have paid tribute to the rapper in comments on his Instagram posts, with many messages simply reading “RIP”.
Others have questioned his reasoning for seemingly encouraging his enemies to confront him; one wrote: “Why you have to post that?”
At the time of writing, the suspects are still at large.
