Takeoff of Migos Dead After Shooting in Houston

Migos rapper Takeoff, 28, was shot and killed early Tuesday morning (Nov. 1) in Houston, Texas. According to a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department, the rapper (born Kirshnik Khari Ball) — who was one third of the Migos trio alongside his uncle, Quavo, and cousin, Offset — was at a private party at a bowling alley in downtown Houston with Quavo around 2:35 a.m. when investigators say shots rang out during an afterparty attended by around 40 people.

KHOU reported that police said someone started shooting, sparking guests to flee the area with one victim, Takeoff, shot in the head or neck. Two other unidentified victims were reportedly transported to a local hospital in private vehicles.

At press time a spokesperson for Offset had not returned requests for comment on the incident and a Houston PD spokesperson said there was no additional information on the injured and no suspects in custody.

According to TMZ, Takeoff and Quavo were at 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston playing dice at the afterparty when someone opened fire, with the site posting stills and video of Quavo and others gathered around Takeoff as Quavo yells for someone to help them; Quavo was not injured in the incident and at press time did not appear to have posted about the shooting.

The shocking killing came just hours after Quavo and Offset, under their side project duo name Unc & Phew, released a new Halloween-themed video for their song “Messy.” Born in Lawrenceville, Georgia in 1994, Takeoff teamed with Quavo and Offest in 2008 to form Migos, whose debut mixtape, Juug Season, was released in 2011. The trio broke out two years later with their inescapable hit, “Versace,” which established their signature sound and led to a string of charts smashes, including their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, “Bad and Boujee,” as well as other top 10 hits such as “Stir Fry” and “MotorSport.”

“Bad and Boujee” (featuring Lil Uzi Vert) topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in January and February 2017 and received a Grammy nomination for best rap performance. The trio also reached the top 10 with “MotorSport” (a collab with Nicki Minaj and Cardi B), “Stir Fry” and “Walk It Talk It” (featuring Drake). Migos’ sophomore album, Culture,  topped the Billboard 200 in 2017 and received a Grammy nod for best rap album. Their follow-up, Culture II (2018) also topped the Billboard 200. Culture III (2021) peaked at No. 2. Takeoff released his only solo album, The Last Rocket, in 2018.

Rumors of the group’s possible dissolution have swirled for months as Offset focused on releasing solo material and Takeoff and Quavo teamed for as a duo for their recently released Built for Infinity Links album.

Billboard will update this story as more information is available.