Rapper’s bodyguard killed outside NY film studio

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A bodyguard for rapper Busta Rhymes
was shot dead outside a New York warehouse where the star was
filming a music video early on Sunday, police said.

Local newspapers said fellow recording artists Mary J.
Blige and Missy Elliott were among those at the packed
warehouse in the borough of Brooklyn where the video was being
filmed.

Some time before the shooting, police sources said, there
had been an argument over noise in the studio and producers had
asked several people to leave.

Shortly after midnight, several shots were fired outside
the studio, killing 29-year-old Israel Ramirez. The father of
three from Brooklyn was in charge of guarding jewelry for the
rapper whose real name is Trevor Smith.

Nobody else was hurt in the shooting which sent dozens of
people fleeing from the scene before police arrived.

Several hundred people had gathered for the video shoot
which also featured 50 Cent among the celebrities making cameo
appearances. It was not clear if 50 Cent was present at the
time of the shooting, the latest in a catalog of violence in
the hip-hop world.

Police found a handgun near the scene and at least eight
spent shells. They were examining film from the video shoot as
well as security camera footage to see if the homicide was
caught on camera.