Rapper 350Heem from Florida was shot and killed outside of his mixtape release party, and he died at the age of 25.
The family of the late rapper confirm the sad news to reporters. “Our family is so broken. We can’t even imagine it. I wake up and I just hope it’s a dream,” said Elecia Crawford Sullivan.
Raheem Bacon, 25, of Lakeland, who goes by the stage name 350Heem first expressed an interest in music when he was a young adolescent, or even earlier. Dwayne Bacon, his brother, plays basketball professionally. Raheem Bacon grew up playing basketball as well, but his true love was music.
“He really was into music. He really wanted to have his own path. He didn’t want to follow and I respect that,” said Sullivan, Bacon’s aunt. Bacon, a Lake Gibson High School alumnus who goes by the rap name 350Heem, has occasionally filmed a music video in Sullivan’s garage. He promised to cover two of his aunt’s mortgage payments when he began to earn money from music.
“That was so special to me because he just thought about it. You know what I mean? He thought about it. He was so excited about getting a deal, getting started, letting his music take off,” said Sullivan.
According to Sullivan, Bacon, a 25-year-old father of two young children, was celebrating the launch of his new rap album, Taking Chances 3, at the Jade Fox Lounge in Lakeland Friday night.
“Our officers were working an off-duty detail there. There were two officers there at the time. It’s not uncommon for businesses to hire off-duty detail officers for events like that,” said Lakeland Police public information officer Stephanie Kerr.
During an altercation in the parking lot as the event was ending early Saturday morning, Bacon and a 48-year-old woman were shot. After the shooting, Bacon was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“It never dawned on me what that doctor was about to say. To the point when he said it, I looked at him and I said ‘No, you talking about somebody else. We’re Raheem’s family,” said Sullivan.
According to authorities, the female victim is still in a hospital in a critical but stable state. Officers detained 23-year-old Jamilah Johnson on suspicion of having a handgun in their possession while a convicted criminal. At the site, a gun that had been reported stolen in 2015 was found.
The owner of Jade Fox Lounge says he is “very shocked” at what occurred.
“We will continue to work with our security and LPD to ensure that we are and will do the best that we can to provide a safe environment for ourselves and clients,” the owner, Jian Zhang said in a statement. “The incident happened outside the parking lot. We have no control or the right to search what people might have in their vehicle.”
Zhang said he does not have a date in mind to reopen his business.
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