CNN is reporting that rapper Kenneth Cherry Jr., better known as Kenny Clutch was one of several people killed early Thursday morning in a wild shootout in Las Vegas.
At approximately 4:30 Thursday morning a black Range Rover started shooting at a gray Maserati. Both vehicles were racing toward one of the busiest intersections on the strip, with the Maserati running a red light plowing into a taxi that exploded into flames killing two people inside the taxi.
Three more cars and a utility truck ended up colliding at the intersection of Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's, injuring at least six more people, with the Range Rover speeding off into the darkness.
The Maserati driver was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Officials are working with a passenger in the Maserati to try and piece together the events leading up to the shooting. Apparently it began with a dispute in the valet lot of the Aria Hotel, about a block away. Investigators haven't confirmed the cause of the altercation, but have said it spilled onto the street as someone in a black Range Rover Sport fired several shots at the Maserati as it headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The driver of the Maserati was hit by a bullet and continued into the intersection colliding with a taxi, resulting in the taxi exploding into flames, killing two people.
Las Vegas has had it's share of problems this month with two people critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage on Feb. 6, and a tourist stabbed Saturday in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay.
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie faced reporters several hours after Thursday's attack. "What happened will not be tolerated," Gillespie said. Promising the shooters will be "found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
The strip remained closed as darkness descended on the city, with investigators still searching for clues.
Police are contacting authorities in neighboring states in hopes of locating the Range Rover Sport. The Range Rover was reported to have dark tinted windows and distinctive black custom rims and plates. It had a car dealer's advertisement in place of a license plate.
In 1996 rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting about a block away under similar circumstances, with assailants opening fire on vehicle on Flamingo Road. The killing has never been solved.
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