D12's Proof Shot And Killed At Detroit Club

[hapoo]

Proof, a member of the Eminem-fronted Detroit-based hip-hop sextet D12, was killed early Tuesday morning outside a Detroit nightclub in a shooting that left another man in critical condition.

According to a spokesperson for the Detroit Police Department, Proof (real name: DeShaun Holton) suffered a gunshot wound to the head at the CCC Club on East Eight Mile Road, near Gratiot Avenue. By the time police arrived just after 5 a.m., the club — which was operating illegally, after hours — had been cleared out, but several witnesses have come forward to discuss the incident with investigators.

The police spokesperson said only that "an altercation occurred , and shots rang out," but would not discuss the shooting further, as the 32-year-old rapper's next of kin have not yet been notified.

Both victims (the other man's name has not been released) were transported to hospitals; Proof was rushed to St. John Holy Cross Hospital, while the second victim, who is 35 and also sustained a gunshot to the head, was taken to St. John Hospital, where he's listed as being in critical condition. Proof was pronounced dead on arrival.

Proof, Eminem's longtime friend (see "Proof: 'Eminem's Best Friend' And A Vital Member Of Detroit's Hip-Hop Scene" (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528405/04112006/proof_of_d_12.jhtml)), appeared in the film "8 Mile" as Lil' Tic; he also served as Eminem's best man when the rapper remarried Kim Mathers in January. Eminem filed for divorce last week (see "Eminem Files For Divorce From Kim — Again" (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1527911/04052006/eminem.jhtml)).

Police are searching for the suspected gunman; a description has not been made available. Detectives have asked that anyone with any information on the shooting come forward.

The shooting is the second in three months to involve a member of Eminem's inner circle. Em protégé Obie Trice was shot and wounded New Year's Eve while riding with his girlfriend along a Detroit freeway (see "Obie Trice Recovering From New Year's Eve Shooting" (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1519732/01042006/trice_obie.jhtml)); police have yet to make an arrest in connection with that incident, which remains under investigation. One of D12's original members, Bugz (real name: Kornail Pitts) was shot and killed on May 21, 1999, during a picnic at Detroit's Belle Isle Park.

According to the [I]Detroit Free Press, several Detroit hip-hop DJs, radio personalities, rappers and producers, as well as Eminem and Obie Trice, planned to meet with Proof's family at the hospital on Tuesday morning (April 11). D12 was set to begin work on its third album this month.

MTV News will have more on this developing story throughout the day.

— Chris Harris


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Well that just sucks. i'm sure eminem is going to flip the sh*t on this one.

[MikeD]

Another one bites the dust...

:johnwoo2:~~> :faint: ~~> :dead:

[eSDee]

Was he the "bitch are you retarded" guy?

[hapoo]

nope that was bizarre

[MJordanash]

I'm thinking someone or people don't like D12 that much.

[Sirrich3]

Another one bites the dust...

:johnwoo2:~~> :faint: ~~> :dead:

:laugh:

[KIISQueen]

update

Police question man in rapper's killing

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- A man turned himself over to police Wednesday for questioning in the death of rapper Proof during a nightclub shootout, authorities said.

Police also said Wednesday it was Proof who fired the first bullet in the gunfire that ended his life a day earlier.

The bullet hit Keith Bender in the head, critically injuring him, at the CCC, a nightclub in a strip of businesses along Eight Mile Road. (Watch for details on what happened before the shooting -- 1:14)

The road was made famous in the 2002 film starring Proof's close friend, rap superstar Eminem.

Mario Etheridge, 28, Bender's cousin and a bouncer at the club, met with police Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"He came in because the Detroit Police Department asked him to," Etheridge's attorney, Randall Upshaw, told television station WXYZ. "Does that sound like a murderer?"

Upshaw would not say whether his client shot Proof but said whoever did acted in self-defense.

Investigators believe Proof was shot after he pistol-whipped and shot Bender following a fight at the club around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday -- more than two hours after the nightclub was required to close for the night.

"The understanding of every witness we've spoken to is that Proof pulled out a weapon," Upshaw said. "Proof shot Keith in the face and Keith was unarmed."

If Proof was shot by someone trying to protect himself or another, the shooter will not be charged, police Sgt. Eren Stephens said.

Proof, 32, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, was taken to a nearby outpatient treatment center by private car, where he was pronounced dead. He was shot three times in the head and chest, according to the Wayne County medical examiner's office.

Bender was taken by a private car to St. John Hospital, where he remained in critical condition early Thursday, spokeswoman Wende Berry said.

Proof was a member of the rap group D12 and was the best man in Eminem's January wedding. Seldom was Eminem seen in public without him.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/13/rapper.killed.ap/index.html

[Jane83]

this means,...eminem's new albumn will have lots of sad and mad songs?

[hapoo]

this means,...eminem's new albumn will have lots of sad and mad songs?

Thats what i'm hoping for :)
two things cause great songs in rap:
1. death
2. fights

[blueindian]

R.I.P.

Didn't know much about Proof, since rap ain't really my bag, but in looking around I found an album that appeals to me just based on the title, so I'm going to order it.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000A2H6KA.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[AlwayzMarel]

Prosecutor says Proof shooter within law By RON VAMPLE, Associated Press Writer
Tue May 30, 11:59 PM ET

DETROIT - The man who police say shot and killed rapper Proof in a nightclub shootout acted lawfully in defense of another man, the county prosecutor said Tuesday.

But Mario Etheridge still will have to face weapons charges in the April 11 incident in which Etheridge's 35-year-old cousin Keith Bender also was killed.

Etheridge's lawyer has said his client fired a gun while trying to defend Bender during the April 11 fight at the CCC, an after-hours club on Detroit's Eight Mile Road.

"The evidence clearly shows that Mario Etheridge acted in lawful self-defense of another when he shot Deshaun Holton," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said at a news conference, using Proof's legal name. "Once the gunshots started, everything happened fairly quickly."

She said Etheridge shot twice at the ceiling to stop Proof — who was a member of D12 and Eminem's best friend — before aiming the gun at him.

A message seeking comment was left Tuesday for Etheridge's lawyer, Randall Upshaw.

Bender's survivors filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Proof's estate on May 1.

Proof's attorney, David Gorosh, said in a statement released late Tuesday that he was gathering evidence in the civil suit that could lead the prosecutor's office to reconsider charges against Etheridge.

Upshaw has maintained that the 32-year-old Proof — who died with a blood alcohol level of 0.32 percent (four times the level considered drunk under Michigan law) — became belligerent during a game of pool.

The man he argued with stopped to speak to him on his way out, Upshaw said, and Proof then argued with Bender and later returned with a gun, pistol-whipped Bender and shot him in the face.

Etheridge, who was working security at the club, took a gun from someone during the attack and fired it in defense of the Bender, Upshaw said.

But witnesses said Etheridge had two guns on him, Worthy said.

He earlier was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and unlawfully discharging a firearm in a building. Worthy said those charges would stand.

Etheridge's final pretrial court date is scheduled for Friday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on the concealed weapon charge and four years on the discharging a firearm count.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060531/ap_en_mu/rapper_killed;_ylt=AnWUUoDvpIpfpy9MceufP8FxFb8C;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--