Philadelphia rapper Phat Geez shot and killed in Brewerytown
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia rapper known as Phat Geez was shot and killed in North Philadelphia late Sunday night.
Police said officers were sent to the 1200 block of North Taney Street shortly after 10 p.m. where they located a man lying in the street. He had been shot multiple times.
The victim, identified as Derrick Gant, was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he was pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m. Gant performed under the name Phat Geez.
In a post on X, Philadelphia native and rapper Meek Mill wrote "Rip phat geez…..Philly is a terrible place for black people to live… you see too much death!!!! Smh."
Gant's relatives said they want to know why he was killed. He recently released a song called "No Gunzone" in hopes of stopping gun violence in Philadelphia, family members said.
"Now you have a whole family that is just broken. They took something away from us that was valuable," Gant's uncle Marcus Fox said.
"To grow up in the streets of Philadelphia and dare to be different is who he was. He took a chance on his own self when nobody else would," Marcus Fox said.
Cousin Tina Fox said Gant had "a heart of gold."
Philadelphia police said they found multiple cartridge casings from a handgun at the scene and have video of the shooting, and that it appears Gant had an interaction with a person or people inside a vehicle on Taney Street just before he was killed.
Capt. Anthony Ginaldi told reporters that it appeared someone inside the car extended their arm out from the passenger side of the vehicle and fired a gun multiple times, hitting Gant in the chest. They believe the car involved fled north on Taney Street.
"How dare you, how can you go to sleep at night knowing you did that to someone senselessly?" Marcus Fox said.
Gant, who posted about his Muslim faith on social media, was killed during the holy month of Ramadan.
"Justice will be served. This is our holiest month of Ramadan," Marcus Fox said. "He was Muslim, so we know he is in paradise, but when it comes down to it, we still are left here in grief, in shock and in disbelief."