XXXTentacion Shot To Death In South Florida, Cops Say

Rapper XXXTentacion was fatally shot in South Florida Tuesday afternoon, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.

The 20-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was leaving a motorcycle dealer in Deerfield Beach, Florida, just before 4 p.m.when two gunman approached him in a possible robbery attempt, police said. At least one of the men opened fire, mortally wounding him before fleeing in a dark SUV.

Emergency responders rushed XXXTentacion to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Video of the aftermath uploaded to Twitter showed a man who appeared to be XXXTentacion slumped in the driver's seat of a high-end sports car, apparently unconscious as onlookers gawked and took videos.

XXXTentacion, whose most recent album debuted at #1 on numerous charts, was facing a slew of charges related to domestic violence and later, related charges of witness tampering. He was under house arrest until March, but had his bail conditions relaxed so he could go on tour, according to Hiphopdx.com. 

The rapper had gathered a fervent following on Soundcloud, part of a movement of young artists making a hybrid style of music that came to be known as emo rap, part of the larger Soundcloud Rap scene.

Rapper XXXtentacion, 20, was shot in Miami Tuesday, according to TMZ. Photo: Getty Images

Even as his music rose in popularity, he drew attention for repeated altercations with fans and feuds with other rappers. In a video posted to Instagram, he appeared to mimic the act of hanging himself, a stunt that was later revealed to be part of a music video shoot, according to Complex.

The most disturbing aspect of his brief, tumultuous time in the spotlight involved allegations that he repeatedly and violently abused his girlfriend.

In a deposition filed last September, the alleged victim laid out a harrowing sequence of events, in which she said XXXTentacion repeatedly hit her, strangled her, and acted with extreme jealousy if he thought she was being unfaithful, according to Pitchfork.

In one incident, she accused him of headbutting her, forcing her into a bathtub, and kicking her because she had sung the words to a song by a friend of his in the car, she said in the deposition.

“He also wanted to cut out my tongue because I was singing the song,” she said, according to Pitchfork.

The allegations of abuse drew condemnation from all sides, but he denied the violence and retained a devoted fanbase.

Within hours of his death, celebrities including Kanye West and Diplo tweeted out tributes to the fallen rapper, while others, like one-time viral rap star Kreayshawn, alluded to his history of alleged violence even as they mourned his untimely passing.

[Photo: Getty Images]