New York Daily News: MANHATTAN, NY – Two people were wounded in separate shootings that erupted after thousands paid tribute to fallen hip-hop superstar DMX at a Mount Vernon vigil, according to reports Thursday.
A bleeding victim from one of the two Wednesday night shootings near Fourth St. Park jumped into the back of a News 12 vehicle for safety, the station reported.
News 12′s Ty Milburn and photographer Dan Foley were wrapping up their broadcast when they heard shots. They ran into their vehicle for cover and a few minutes later the bleeding victim jumped into the back seat, asking if he could hide inside.
The reporters flagged down police, who were responding to a second shooting a few blocks away, the station reported. Medics took the wounded man to an area hospital for treatment.
Information on the second shooting was not immediately available, as Mount Vernon police investigate. Neither shooting appeared to be life-threatening and it was unclear if the two were connected.
The gunplay took place about an hour after the vigil for DMX ended and as scores of people were still milling about the park. The platinum-selling rapper known for his breakout single “Get at Me Dog” and the Top 10 smash “Party Up (In Here),” was born in Mount Vernon.
A few hours earlier, the park was packed with DMX fans, including 80 members of the Ruff Ryder Motorcycle club who revved their engines in tribute, LoHud reported. The club got its name from the Ruff Ryder rap group, where DMX got his start.
“I want to talk about the depth of his darkness, but his life shined brightly,” Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said during the vigil. “He lived his life out loud. He gave lessons.”
DMX, born Earl Simmons, died Friday after a drug overdose triggered a heart attack in his Westchester County home a week earlier.
- Top Feature Photo: Balloons are placed at a makeshift memorial for hip-hop star DMX outside White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York, on April 10, 2021 – KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
