A rapper signed to fellow lyricists Future and Waka Flocka Flame died on his 39th birthday in his home town of Atlanta after injuring his leg while running from police and jumping fences, according to authorities as well as multiple media reports.
The death of 39-year-old Young Scooter, born Kenneth Edward Bailey, was confirmed by Atlanta’s Fulton county medical examiner’s office, as Variety first reported.
In a statement on Friday, Atlanta police – without identifying Scooter – said that they responded to initial reports of shots being fired at a home on William Nye Drive SE and that a woman was being dragged back inside.
“Once officers arrived they knocked on the door. A male opened the door and immediately shut the door on the officers,” Atlanta police lieutenant Andrew Smith said, adding that police subsequently cordoned off the area to search it for a suspect.
“During the process of establishing the perimeter, two males fled out of the rear of the house,” Smith said. “One male returned back into the house. The other male jumped two fences as he was fleeing. When officers located him on the other side of the fence, he appeared to have suffered an injury to his leg.”
He added: “Just to be very clear, the injury that was sustained was not via the officers on scene. It was when the male was fleeing.”
According to the medical examiner’s office, Bailey was taken to the Grady Marcus trauma center and died there from his injuries.
His cause of death was not immediately determined, with an autopsy pending.
Born in Waterboro, South Carolina, Young Scooter entered the hip-hop scene in Atlanta at a young age where he maintained a “consistent presence … during its commercial boom in the 2010s”, Variety wrote.
Beside appearing on songs by other rappers including Future and Young Thug, Scooter worked with Juicy J, Kodak Black and Rick Ross.
Speaking to Complex in 2013 about his creative process, Young Scooter said: “I don’t really care what I say on a beat as long as it’s about some money.
“When you try to think hard and write it out, that’s when it’s gonna be fucked up.”
Last March, he released one of his latest projects, Trap’s Last Hope, featuring songs including Grind Dont Stop, Ice Game, Free Bands and Letter to God.
