Two members of Baltimore's rap community were killed less than weeks apart, but Baltimore Police do not believe a music feud led to the deaths.
Rapper Lor Scoota was fatally shot at the end of June, and Wednesday night, the rapper's manager was killed in northwest Baltimore not far from his home, according to police.
The two killings have members of the Baltimore rap community shaken, but as police investigate, their belief is that the murders are removed from music altogether.
In searching for the person they believe used a green minivan on the way to kill Scoota, police immediately asked for leads through social media. Thursday they made the same plea as they asked for help finding the person who killed Scoota's manager, Trayvon "Truz" Lee, 24.
"The obvious question that everyone wants to know is are these two incidents related? Of course that's something we're looking into," Baltimore Police spokesman TJ Smith said.
Police said Lee was shot multiple times Wednesday evening in 2300 block of Anoka Avenue in northwest Baltimore near Druid Hill Park. He was taken to a hospital where he died.
Lee's death came 11 days after the death of Lor Scoota, whom police said was killed to avenge the "violent act" of an associate.
"This is not unusual. Sometimes if you can't get to the person, you get to somebody close to them," Smith said.
Because Lee's death comes so soon after a musician he managed, one city rapper said over the phone that the killings cause reason for pause. He did not want to speak on-camera, he said, feeling he could be next. He went on to say that one thing the two victims had in common was an unending passion to make it big, which could be a problem in a city where there could be repercussions for those who stand out.
"It doesn't appear to be any type of East Coast/West Coast or rap game, this appears to be retaliatory violence for violence that occurred which is something we're all too familiar with," Smith said.
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