A vigil for influential local rapper C-Knight was interrupted Friday night when someone in a car began shooting at attendees and two people returned fire.
“Several shots rang out on the corner of PCH and MLK,” Long Beach Post reporter Jackie Rae, who was at the vigil working on a story about C-Knight, posted on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the incident. “At least two of the vigil attendees returned fire and ran after the shooters.”
One day after my birthday and I’m grateful to be alive!! #ShotsFired while I was covering the candlelight vigil for #HipHop artist C-Knight. 💔 pic.twitter.com/QWRv9VZryA
— Jackie Rae (@JackieRaeTV) November 11, 2023
Two women in the crowd were wounded when the shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m., according to Lt. Royce Wexler of the Long Beach Police Department. Both women were transported to a local hospital in stable condition, Wexler said.
One of the women was hit in the shoulder, according to Jackie Rae. “She was standing right behind me. She will be okay.”
Two male suspects fled the scene and gang detectives are investigating the incident, according to Wexler.
C-Knight was a co-founder of The Dove Shack — a trio made up of himself, Bo Roc and 2Scoops — part of the “short-lived but still very influential G-funk sound era on the West Coast,” according to Dave Brooks, who is Billboard’s senior director for live music.
Multiple media reports have said C-Knight, 52, was taken off life support last week after being admitted to a hospital because of a stroke.
“He definitely will be missed,” said World Famous VIP Records COE Kelvin Anderson, who told the Long Beach Post he was informed of C-Knight’s death by a friend. The vigil was held in a parking lot near VIP Records.
Jake Gotta, Alicia Robinson, Brandon Richardson and Fernando Haro Garcia contributed to this report.