Kenny Clutch Oakland Rapper Killed in Vegas Strip Shootout

Rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by in 1996 about a block away under similar circumstances, as assailants opened fire on his luxury sedan

Sources have confirmed to NBC Bay Area that one of the victim's from Thursday morning's deadly shooting and chain reaction crash on the Las Vegas Strip was a rapper from Oakland.

Someone at the family's home in Oakland said Kenny Clutch was the person who was driving the Masarati.

Clutch's real name was Kenneth Cherry Jr. He was 27 years old. Clutch was driving the car that was targeted by shooter driving a black SUV.

Two more people died after Clutch's Masarati crashed into a taxi cab, causing it to explode.

Three more cars and a utility truck collided at the intersection of Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's, leaving at least six more people injured as the black Range Rover sped off in the predawn darkness.

The below YouTube rap video shows Clutch driving down the same Las Vegas Strip in a Masarati.

Warning: offensive lyrics.


The dramatic scene in Las Vegas was something out of a violent action movie set off a frantic search for the occupants of the Range Rover and marked the latest violent episode on the Strip since the beginning of the year.
 
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie told reporters several hours after Thursday's attack that it was sparked by an argument in the valet area of the nearby Aria hotel-casino, and that the violence at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road did not reflect the values of Las Vegas residents or visitors.
 
"What happened will not be tolerated,'' Gillespie said. He promised the shooters would be "found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.''

Police said they were contacting authorities in three neighboring states about the Range Rover Sport with dark tinted windows, distinctive black custom rims and paper dealer ads in place of license plates that fled the scene about 4:20 a.m. 
 
In Southern California, the California Highway Patrol alerted officers in at least three counties to be on the lookout for the SUV.
 
Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said the Range Rover was last seen near the Venetian resort as it headed north from the shooting scene on Las Vegas Boulevard.
 
Witnesses also told police the SUV and Maserati had come from the nearby CityCenter area, the home of Aria just south of the site of the attack.
 
"We have numerous witnesses to this,'' Sheahan said. "But what is the genesis of this? We don't know yet.''
 
  Sheahan said police have video from traffic cameras at the intersection and were checking hotel surveillance systems. The video will not be made public, he said.
 
Police said the driver and passenger in the taxi were killed. The male driver of the Maserati, the rapper from Oakland also died, and his passenger was shot. Police did not release their names, citing the ongoing investigation.
 
Ironically, rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by in 1996 about a block away under similar circumstances, as assailants opened fire on his luxury sedan from a vehicle on Flamingo Road. The killing has never been solved.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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