Shakur Stevenson has dodged a bullet.
Takeoff – a member of the popular rap group Migos – was shot and killed Tuesday shortly after 2:30 a.m. at the 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston.
Footage shows Stevenson standing next to Takeoff moments before the gunman fired multiple shots.
The 25-year-old, two-division champion Stevenson is managed by rap mogul turned boxing impresario James Prince, the founder of Rap-A-Lot Records.
The other two members of Migos are Quavo, Takeoff’s uncle, and Offset, Takeoff’s cousin.
Quavo was celebrating Prince’s son Jas Prince’s birthday throughout the night.
Earlier in the evening, Prince’s other son J. Prince Jr. posted an Instagram Story saying “Bowling party tonight at 9 p.m. DM for details.” In a separate post, Prince Jr. posted “Quavo, No Cap, and Shakur Stevenson on the way.”
According to TMZ, Jas Prince was not with Quavo and Takeoff when the shooting occurred.
Media reports state Takeoff and Quavo were playing dice at the party when an altercation broke out and someone opened fire soon after.
On Tuesday night, Stevenson tweeted “R.I.P. Takeoff.” In an Instagram post, Stevenson shared a song and wrote “rest easy Takeoff.”
When Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) scored a tenth-round stoppage win against Jamel Herring in October 2021 in Atlanta to win his first world title at 130 pounds, Quavo ushered Stevenson into the ring with a song.
Takeoff was born Kirshnik Khari Ball in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
He was 28 years old.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.