Posted at 4:30 p.m. on May 17
Lionel "Chinx" Pickens, 31, a rapper from Far Rockaway, was killed in a drive-by shooting early Sunday morning which left one other person critically injured, according to police.
The shooting happened just after 4 a.m. on Sunday morning at the corner of Queens Boulevard and 84th Drive in Jamaica. Sources say that the rapper was driving west on Queens Boulevard when a second car pulled up and opened fire into his car, hitting both him and his unidentified passengerThey were transported to Jamaica Medical Center, where Pickens was pronounced dead.
The biography on Pickens' website says, "Raised in Far Rockaway, he was surrounded by a level of poverty that drove people into drugs, the ghetto and the streets. While divulging into that lifestyle personally, music gave him an outlet to convey his experiences, his fears and his ambition."
Police sources say that Chinx, was shot multiple times and a 27-year-old passenger in the Porsche was hit twice in the back.
The shooter sped off while the victim's silver Porsche Panamera 4 came to a stop about a block down the street in front of a Dunkin' Donuts. At least seven bullet holes pierced the front and rear driver-side windows.
An employee who spoke to the Daily News that Pickens looked lifeless in the driver seat when cops arrived at the scene.
"The police came and they opened up the door," said Bibekanada Das, who was working in the kitchen at the donut shop when the shooting occurred. "All you could see was the guy laid out in the seat."
Responders rushed both victims to Jamaica Hospital, where Pickens died and the younger man was listed in critical but stable condition, police said.
Pickens performed at around 2:30 a.m., shortly before the fatal shooting, at Club Red Wolf in Brooklyn.
In 2009, Pickens released his first solo album, "Hurry Up & Die Vol. 1: Get Ya Casket On." He is a member of French Montana's Coke Boys group and record label.
The French Montana connection of course meant Chinx knew Khloe Karadashian, who posted a collage of photos in a heartfelt Instagram post saying they had the "best time," and at least one of her siblings.
"Another brother gone without reaching his full potential," Rob Kardashian said in one of two tweets. His other Twitter post included a photo of him with Chinx.
A local with ties to the rap world said that Pickens was “a good kid who was trying to make it in a tough world. He was trying to do the right things to make a name for himself.”
Sources say, however, that Pickens had a long rap sheet, with arrests for attempted murder, robbery and drugs and that he had spent six years in prison earlier in his life.
After the killing, an Instagram account with the tagline “gang worldwide” bragged about gunning down the rapper. The Teamshabbaofficial Instagram account posted pictures of guns and a photo of the bullet ridden Porsche.
Sean “Diddy” Combs tweeted, “Life is so short. Why are we killing each other? For nothing. Just got a really good guy. So Sad. God bless his family and kids.”
While details are still sketchy, police sources say that three men were taken into custody at 2436 Beach Channel Drive at about 12:45 on Sunday, reportedly in connection with Pickens’ shooting. They were still searching for a another suspect, who might be barricaded in a house at 24-96 Beach Channel Drive as this story gets posted at 4:30 p.m.
http://www.onrockaway.com/page-16.html
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