XXXTentacion memorial: Crowds become unruly, block roadway in Fairfax as police struggle to keep them under control
On Monday (June 18) it was reported that rapper XXXTentacion was shot dead in Miami. On Tuesday (June 19) night the police were faced with a crowd of people in the Fairfax area gathered for a memorial to the late rapper. As reported by Los Angeles Times, many people started climbing onto rooftops and moving cars. Even though the police ordered them to disperse their pleas went unheeded.
Around 300 to 500 people gathered in the street on Melrose and Spaulding avenues and blocked the traffic. Meanwhile, people who were standing on the rooftops pumped their fists into the air as a television news helicopter hovered above them. There were dozens of others who formed a mosh pit in the center of the crowd and had people jumping up and down. At least one person climbed on top of a news van and jumped on the windshield.
Around 9 pm, seeing how the crowd was not being responsive to their request, the police decided to take the next step and reportedly used tear gas to disperse the crowd. During this, one officer was struck by a rock. Even though the crowd thinned, later on, there were still a group of people who continued to move forward and block the traffic. There came a point when multiple people climbed on to moving cars.
“We’re going to try to have them safely leave and try to get the street back in order,” the tabloid was told. No one has been arrested in this. This comes after fans were convinced that the rapper might have predicted his own death. The rapper rarely made appearances for interviews but made sure he interacted with his fans via social media or Soundcloud. His sudden death left the music industry and his fans shocked but it soon gave rise to his fans sharing a video of the rapper in which he spoke about how he would like to be remembered after his death.
In the video, as reported by People, XXXTentacion is seen talking about a scenario in which he dies before he sees his dream come to life. "If worse thing comes to worst, and I f—ing die or some s— and I’m not able to see out my dreams, I at least want to know that the kids perceived my message and were able to make something of themselves and able to take my message and use it and turn it into something positive and to at least have a good life,” he says in the video.
"If I’m going to die or ever be a sacrifice, I want to make sure that my life made at least five million kids happy or they found some sort of answers or resolve in my life regardless of the negative around my name, regardless of the bad things people say to me,” he continued. The rapper also sent some love towards his fans in the video and thanked them for always believing in him.
