On the eve of his 39th birthday, Atlanta-based rapper Young Scooter, whose given name was Kenneth Edward Bailey, tragically succumbed to a grievous leg wound incurred while evading police, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. WSB-TV, citing the medical examiner, reported that the rapper's demise was attributed to a "penetrating wound to the right thigh" likely caused by wooden fencing or debris during his flight, ultimately resulting in substantial blood loss.
Young Scooter, renowned for his collaborations with artists like Future and Gucci Mane, breathed his last at Grady Marcus Trauma Center in Atlanta on a Friday night. Prior to his untimely death, police had responded to a residence in southeast Atlanta following a false 911 call alleging a violent domestic dispute at the premises.
A woman, who chose to remain anonymous but identified herself as a "neighborhood watch" volunteer, informed the dispatcher of a harrowing scene: a naked woman fleeing outdoors, being assaulted by one of the inhabitants, followed by the discharge of at least three gunshots. The caller described the naked woman as "bleeding profusely" from the head and claimed that seven men, known for brandishing firearms, resided in the house and dealt drugs. "He's beating her bloody. He's dragged her back inside," she added, stating that she was being held captive by one of the men, with a child also in peril.
Upon arrival, officers found only Young Scooter and another man inside, with no trace of the woman or child. One of the men allegedly slammed the front door in the officer's face, prompting both to flee out the back of the house. As Scooter vaulted over a fence in his bid to escape, he sustained the fatal leg injury, either during the jump or within the wooded area behind the residence. The unnamed accomplice later returned to the scene unscathed and uncharged. The reasoning behind their flight remains uncertain.
Following news of the rapper's demise, rumors circulated that he had been shot, which both the Fulton County Medical Examiner and the Atlanta Police Department swiftly debunked. "While we acknowledge the widespread sorrow over his passing, it is crucial to emphasize that Atlanta police officers neither discharged their firearms nor employed any force against Mr. Bailey," the Atlanta police stated in a Tuesday press release.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was summoned to spearhead the investigation into the bogus 911 call. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Police Department announced on Tuesday evening the arrest of 31-year-old Demetria Spence in connection with the false call that indirectly led to the rapper's death. Spence was apprehended by the Atlanta Police Department and charged under O.C.G.A 16-10-28, subsection (d)(2), for Transmitting a False Public Alarm, especially as "serious bodily harm or death resulted from the response of a public safety agency," the department noted.
Young Scooter burst onto the hip-hop scene after signing with Future's Freebandz record label in 2012. The following year, he collaborated with Gucci Mane on the latter's "Free Bricks 2" mixtape. His 2013 mixtape, "Street Lottery," also boasted appearances from Future, Gucci Mane, Young Dolph, and Chief Keef, cementing his place in the rap landscape.
