X’s friend describes rapper’s fatal shooting

February 8, 2023
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A family friend of the rapper XXXTentacion broke down Tuesday as he told jurors how he and the rapper were ambushed by armed robbers as they drove away from a motorcycle shop, how he fled in fear and then heard the gunshots that killed the rising star.

Leonard Kerr’s testimony highlighted the opening day in the trial of three men accused of fatally shooting XXXTentacion on June 18, 2018, inside his BMW sports car, which had been blocked by an SUV as Kerr and the rapper pulled out of the Riva Motorsports’ parking lot near Fort Lauderdale.

Two men jumped out with guns, Kerr said. He said the taller man pointed his weapon at him and told him not to get out of the car, punctuating his command with a curse word. The other man was trying to pull the rapper’s gold chain from his neck. Kerr said he could hear XXXTentacion asking, “What’s this for?” At that point, Kerr said, he decided to escape, pushing the button that opened the passenger door.

“If I run, I can get shot, but I can live. If I sit….” Kerr said, his voicing trailing off until he stopped to regain his composure.

Kerr said when he looked back, the taller man was pointing his gun at XXXTentacion, and he said he heard at least two loud bangs. The men then got back into the SUV and sped off, taking with them the $50,000 the rapper had in his designer bag.