St. Louis rapper Huey, famous for the 2006 hit “Pop, Lock & Drop It,” was killed Thursday night in a double shooting, police said Friday. No suspects have been apprehended.
Police learned at approximately 10:55 p.m. that a 32-year-old male, later identified as Lawrence Franks Jr. — Huey’s real name — had arrived at a local hospital suffering from at least one apparent gunshot wound, the St. Louis County Police Department said in a statement. He died shortly after arrival.
Soon after, the department was notified that a 21-year-old shooting victim arrived at the Ferguson Police Department. That victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police said they believe the shootings, which occurred on the same block in the city of Kinloch, were related. Detectives said as many as 10 other people were near the crime scene at the time.
Investigators urged potential witnesses to come forward with information and said the homicide investigation is ongoing.
Franks Jr. started rapping as a teenager, and eventually signed with Jive Records, according to CBS affiliate KMOV. “Pop, Lock & Drop It” hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2007.
Franks’ first manager, Enrico Washington, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the rapper was “just happy about life.”
“You’re talking about a young man who still had a lot of life to live,” he said.
