UPDATE:
UPDATE:
Police have said there was only one shooter, taken out by an off duty officer working in the mall as a second job. At least three people were injured by the shooter. It appears to have been gang-related argument.
The shooter is a self-proclaimed ‘Rapper’ who goes by the name ‘Donkey Cartel’.
Warning, graphic photo, below fold.
Update
Daquan Westbrook, a rapper with an extensive arrest record, has been identified as the man killed in an officer-involved shooting at Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Christmas Eve.
Mr. Westbrook, 18, was a rapper who performed as “Donkey Cartel” and released a mixtape titled “Convicted Felon With a Weapon,” the cover of which shows him in a prison cell wearing an orange jumpsuit and making hand signs.
According to the New York Daily News, one of his songs was called “Can’t Be Touched.”
“Westbrook’s friend at the scene told reporters he was going to be a new father. He had just graduated high school in 2014, according to his Twitter,” the Daily News wrote.
But according to several Charlotte news outlets, Mr. Westbrook had a lengthy history of run-ins with the police, his record including at least 11 arrests since 2013, one of them related to the shooting of a 12-year-old boy.
His Twitter and Instagram suggest gang ties and his posts are about rapping and graphic porn. Here’s one from Dec. 2014 where he calls for killing white people. Given this shooting and his past history, it may not have been a joke.
UPDATE:
Video as the shooting happened, you can see Donkey going for the gun in his waistband just before shots ring out.