Rapper FBG Duck shot to death in brazen Chicago ambush

Struck by multiple bullets, Duck died about half an hour later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, citing a statement by Deputy Chief Daniel O’Shea.

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“We don’t expect this type of activity in this neighborhood,” O’Shea said. “This area is well policed, and this is something that was specifically targeted for these individuals ... To see this happen in the middle of the day is very, very disturbing.”

So far, no suspects or arrests have been announced.

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FBG Duck has multiple album releases, all of them available on iTunes, but he was not yet a household name in rap music. He arrived on Chicago’s drill music scene in 2013 with the debut mixtape, “Look At Me” and recorded several albums and other singles, the Sun-Times reported. He is mostly known for his 2018 hit single “Slide,” which became popular in social media circles and hip-hop radio.

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A large crowd gathered outside Northwestern Memorial Hospital after his death.

Investigators were trying to piece together the events that led up to the shooting.

How it happened

The gunfire erupted about 4:37 p.m. Tuesday at Michigan Avenue and East Oak Street in the Gold Coast area of Chicago, where witnesses reported hearing as many as 30 gunshots or more. One shopper in the area reported hearing sounds similar to “a machine gun,” the Sun Times reported.

The shooters jumped back into a black Ford Taurus and a silver Chrysler 300 and sped away, police said, according to the Sun-Times.

Video from the scene shared to social media showed Duck lying on the pavement, still alive, alongside another man as a woman urgently called for help.

Credit: undefined

Credit: undefined

Police recovered a gun at the scene but would not confirm whether Duck or anyone else had returned fire.

Some reports said Duck may have been in the area shopping — several jewelry stores and a Saks Fifth Avenue store are on the same block where he took his final steps. The glass storefront of a Dolce & Gabbana store was shattered by gunfire.

Weekly’s older brother Jermaine Robinson, a rapper known as FBG Brick, was shot and killed in a double homicide in 2017, according to the Tribune.

Gang connections

Sources told the Tribune that Weekly’s Tookaville faction had been in a long-term feud with the Black Disciples, particularly in an area on the city’s South Side.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot later highlighted Duck’s lifestyle as a gang member, saying in a statement that Duck only “fancies himself as a rapper,” according to the Tribune. She said the rapper had been ”livestreaming his travels through the city and he was found” by the gunmen.

“What we’re seeing is a manifestation of a larger problem, which is that way too many young men, and particularly young men of color, have access to guns and are willing to use those guns to settle petty grievances,” she said.

The Chicago Police Department on Wednesday warned its officers to anticipate possible retaliation between rival gangs throughout the city, which has been plagued by more than 440 homicides this year.

“Intelligence suggests that both these gangs are in possession of large caliber and high capacity firearms,” according to an advisory from the department Wednesday.

Survivors hospitalized

Police would not identify the two people who survived the shooting.

One was a 36-year-old man listed in serious condition at Northwestern Memorial with wounds to his back and side; the other was a 26-year-old woman in stable condition at Joseph Hospital after she was shot in the hand while sitting in a car nearby.

Other rappers killed

Duck became the latest name in a growing list of rappers who have died recently from gun violence.

Rapper Baby Huey, best known for his 2006 hit “Pop, Lock & Drop It,” was shot and killed in June outside St. Louis, the city where he made his name. The 31-year-old’s real name is Lawrence Franks Jr.

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In February, 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke, a rap newcomer whose real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, was shot dead in a home invasion robbery in Hollywood Hills.

Police later revealed Smoke had publicly shared his address in an Instagram video only hours before the shooting. Five suspects were arrested in the case in July. When Smoke was killed, The Academy Music Business, an advocacy group for independent artists, warned other rappers on Twitter against publicizing their whereabouts on social media.

In July 2019, up-and-coming Philadelphia rapper Bankroll Gambino, 21, was shot and killed during a music video shoot.

And in March 2019, rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in Los Angeles.

Back in 2017, another Chicago rapper named “Shootashellz,” whose real name was Cedron Doles, was shot to death after inserting the names of rivals into his rap lyrics.

A bloody year for Chicago

Meanwhile, homicides and shootings have surged in Chicago during the first seven months of 2020.

From Jan. 1 through the end of July, there were 440 homicides in Chicago and 2,240 people shot, including many of those who were killed, according to statistics released Saturday by the police department.

There were 290 homicides and 1,480 shootings, including people who were killed, in the first seven months of last year.

July was especially violent, as the city recorded 105 homicides and 584 shootings. Among them was a 9-year-old boy who was killed Friday when someone opened fire in the direction of a number of people, including the boy and his friends, according to police.

There were 308 shootings and 44 homicides in July 2019.

— Information provided by The Associated Press was used to supplement this report.