Man shot near Young Dolph memorial as mourners gather to pay tribute to the late rapper
A man was shot on Thursday afternoon near the site of a memorial for rapper Young Dolph, who was shot and killed in Memphis on Wednesday.
The shooting on Thursday afternoon took place near Makedas Homemade Butter Cookies, the shop that the hip-hop artist was visiting when he was killed. The bakery, which has been boarded shut, has since become the site of a memorial for the rapper, where mourners gathered to pay their respects.
"Officers are on the scene of a shooting at 2630 Airways," the Memphis Police Department tweeted Thursday afternoon. "One male was shot and is listed as non-critical. Officers immediately detained two suspects, and a third was detained at Kerr and Mississippi after a brief pursuit. The cause of this shooting is under investigation."
It is unclear whether the shootings are connected. ABC News reached out to the Memphis Police Department but a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Hours before the shooting Thursday, Memphis Police released photos on Twitter of the suspects and the suspected vehicle connected to the rapper's killing, and urged anyone with information to contact police.
According to police, Dolph was killed while he was inside Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies in South Memphis.
The rapper, whose given name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 36.
During a press conference Wednesday evening, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis urged people in the area to take caution and stay in at night if they don't have to venture out, but said that a curfew has not been instated at this time.
Pamela Hill, whose family owns Makedas, told ABC News on Wednesday that the rapper was a "fan" of the bakery.
"He loved chocolate chip cookies and ice cream was his favorite thing that he got every time and he always called me 'mom,'" she said.
Young Dolph appeared in a video posted on the cookie shop's Instagram account just last week, saying that he visited Makedas every time he was in his hometown. In the clip, he is seen holding chocolate chip cookies that he said were "straight out the oven."
Dolph was born in Chicago but grew up in Memphis and released his first studio album, "The King of Memphis," in 2016.
Over the past decade, the rapper rose to prominence in the indie hip-hop scene by releasing a series of mixtapes, and founded his independent record label Paper Route Empire in 2010.
He was injured in a previous shooting in Los Angeles in September 2017.
"I've been targeted since I was 17, 18, 19," he told The Guardian in a 2018 interview. "I just knew that I was good."
The news of Dolph's killing sent shock waves through the music world and tributes poured in from his fans, friends and collaborators who want to honor the late rapper and his legacy.
"A father, a family man, a mentor and community leader. Young Dolph was a pillar at EMPIRE and we are beyond devastated at his passing," Empire Records, the label to which the rapper was signed, said in a statement on Instagram Thursday. "Dolph embodied what it meant to be an independent leader to the fullest. Our deepest condolences to his family, Paper Route Empire and to all of those that loved his music. It's Dolph Forever."
He had two children, son Tre Tre and daughter Ari, with longtime partner Mia Jaye.
