Fans grieve as detectives search for XXXTentacion’s killers
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — For hours, the fans came in a steady stream to mourn and pay their respects at the spot where rapper XXXTentacion was gunned down, some leaving behind expressions of sympathy along a fence and on the sidewalk.
No arrests have been announced in the shooting of the 20-year-old rapper, who Broward County sheriff’s officials say was ambushed by two suspects as he left an upscale motor sports dealership Monday afternoon in his electric BMW. His attorney, David Bogenschutz, said investigators told him the 20-year-old rapper, who pronounced his stage name “Ex Ex Ex ten-ta-see-YAWN,” had visited a bank shortly before the shooting and possibly withdrew cash to buy a motorcycle.
That brought a parade of mourners Tuesday to the spot behind Riva Motorsports where XXXTentacion was gunned down, not far from where he grew up in Lauderhill. They placed candles, flowers and teddy bears on the sidewalk near where the rapper known by his fans simply as “X” was shot. They decorated 100 yards (91 metres) of sidewalk with chalk art including messages of sympathy and loss such as “Feel for you XXX” and “4evr Young.”
Myles O’Hara, 17, and Aaron Gavin, 20, sat on the curb, solemnly staring at the ground, mostly ignoring the people who moved past. They said they admired XXXTentacion because he was a local kid who rose from rough circumstances and was making a positive contribution.