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Police car with LED lights at a crime scene

Source: Jeremy Hogan / Getty

A shooting in Memphis has left two people dead, including a young rapper on the rise according to accounts from loved ones. Mendenhall Mendenhall and one other person were shot and killed in front of a local Valero location, and a 20-year-old suspect has been arrested.

Local outlet WREG reports that Mendenhall Mendenhall, real name Donterrius Johnson, was apparently the victim of being at the wrong place and the wrong time. Johnson was exiting the store when the other slain individual, an unnamed juvenile, was reportedly driving a stolen Chevy Camero that was owned by suspect Noah Jones, who opened fire and struck Johnson and the juvenile.

Friends contend that Johnson was not involved in the theft of the vehicle and that he truly was on the path of becoming a full-time recording artist.

Buck Nasty, a producer signed to Warner Chappell Music and a Memphis native, said to the outlet, “He was a great guy, a great guy to work with. I did record with him a few times. He was very energetic and professional.”

The shooting took place around 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday (April 14) and a vigil of around 300 to 400 people showed up at the Valero to pay their respects to Johnson. His age has not been reported.

In a recent report from the Associated Press, a Memphis rapper by the name of Big Boogie was arrested with 23 others in a caravan in connection with a highway shooting in Mississipi. The city itself has seen a rise in homicides in 2021, alarming local officials

Jones faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of reckless endangerment.

Photo: Getty