Kenneth Cherry, aka Kenny Clutch, the driver of a Maserati who was killed in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, bragged about stashing a gun in his $120,000 Italian sports car.
Kenneth Cherry was killed when men inside a black Range Rover opened fire on his car while he was sitting at a red light. He accelerated into the intersection and crashed into a taxi.
Cab driver Michael Boldon and his passenger died when the taxi burst into flames. Family members said Michael Boldon had recently moved to Las Vegas to take care of his ailing mother.
Police say the shooting was the result of a fight that erupted in the nearby Aria Resort and Casino that escalated into violence.
Despite initial reports that the chaos on the Strip was the result of a gunfight, authorities are now saying neither Kenneth Cherry nor his passenger fired any shots and that the attack was a drive-by shooting.
The gunmen, driving a Range Rover with black rims, tinted windows and a temporary paper license plate, are still at large.
The shooting took place just two blocks from the spot where rapper Tupac Shakur was infamously gunned down in a drive-by shooting in 1992 on the Las Vegas Strip.
Kenny Clutch was only beginning his rap career when he was killed.
He posted two videos on YouTube last year and each had gained only a few thousand views.
In Stay Schemin, Kenny Clutch rapped about hiding a pistol in his Maserati. Police didn’t say whether Kenneth Cherry was armed the night of the shooting.
“Maserati. Paid 120 for it. Stash box ‘cuz you know I got that semi for it,” he sings.
The gunfire broke about 4:20 a.m. PST when at least one person in the Range Rover opened fire. Several people were inside the vehicle, according to police.
Kenny Clutch’s Maserati sped through the intersection and crashing into a taxi cab, which burst into flames.
The driver of the Maserati, as well as the taxi driver and a passenger in the cab were killed in the fiery crash, police said. One witness said it was like a scene out of Die Hard.
Now authorities are trying to track down the gunman, who remains at large after fleeing the scene. Officials say the shooter remains armed and dangerous.
In a press conference this morning, Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said the attack was not a rolling gun battle as previously described, saying that the cars were all stopped at a red light.
Sgt. John Sheahan said police have video from traffic cameras at the intersection where the shooting occurred on Thursday.
“We have a lot of pieces to put together to establish a timeline as to why this confrontation occurred,” he said.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the high-speed gun battle could have started as a dispute at a nearby casino.
LVMPD officials are still searching for the gunman and the high-end SUV after it fled the scene of the deadly accident. They said the SUV has black rims and tinted windows.
The identities of the three victims have not yet been released, though it was revealed that the driver of the Maserati was male.
Las Vegas Boulevard is currently shut down as the LVMPD continues their investigation.
The intersection is surrounded by some of the most famous casinos on the Strip, including the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and Bally’s, and is a popular area for tourists.
A spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Jeremy Handel, issued a statement reassuring people that much is being done to keep them safe.
“Recent incidents, while unfortunate, were isolated events,” he said.
Las Vegas is among the safest travel destinations in the world and utilizes the most advanced technology and training to maintain a secure environment.
The shooting is the latest in a series of violent actions on the tourist corridor since the beginning of the year.
Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage February 6, and a tourist was stabbed in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay February 16.
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