Nipsey Hussle’s older brother, Samiel Asghedom, was with him during his final moments. He shared the details of the tragedy in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Thursday.
He told the outlet that when he got the call about the shooting, he jumped into his car and drove down Slauson Avenue from his grandmother’s house. When he pulled up to the Marathon Clothing store, Nipsey was still breathing. Samiel could see that a bullet had entered Nipsey’s leg and that blood was on the front of his shirt.
Samiel attempted to save his brother’s life by following instructions from a 911 operator on the phone. He pushed down on Nipsey’s chest, trying to pump air into his lungs. Paramedics arrived and inserted a tube down the rapper’s throat, placed an IV in his arm, and lifted him onto a stretcher. It was at that point that Samiel—and everyone—saw the gunshot wound on the back of Nipsey’s head. Samiel started to pray. When he arrived at the hospital, Nipsey had passed.
A paramedic from the ambulance told Samiel the news: “I know who he is. I’m a fan. I respect what he was doing in the community. We tried our hardest.”
Nipsey hired mostly felons to work at his Marathon Clothing store—because of their criminal records, they typically had difficulties finding a job. Felons are also restricted from carrying guns.
“Because of that, the man was able to shoot my brother, start running, realize nobody out there had a gun, stop, turn back around, walk up, shoot my brother two more times, start to run, realize nobody had a gun, nobody was responding, ran back up and shot my brother three more times, shoot him in the head and kicked him in the head and then ran off,” Samiel told the Times.
“If somebody would’ve been there—if I would’ve been there—I would’ve shot back,” he said. “I just wish I would’ve been there.”
Nipsey’s aim was to revitalize his South Los Angeles neighborhood by investing in the strip mall where the clothing store was located, among other projects. He even had a meeting with police scheduled the day after his death to discuss ways to deal with gun violence.
“He made something work in an area that was run-down, that people were scared to come to, and he turned it into a landmark,” Samiel told the Times. “All races. Different states. Many countries. They all come to Crenshaw and Slauson. He was truly the people’s champ.”
“It doesn’t make sense that somebody from the area, that just snuck up, and just talked to him and shook his hand minutes before,” he added. “It’s mind-boggling.”
Nipsey’s family is now planning his memorial and searching for a venue that can make room for what will likely be a massive crowd, TMZ reports. Sources tell the outlet that the family has been looking at venues, but everything is too small. They’ve been passing on places that hold 2,000 seats, and are looking at venues that can accommodate up to 15,000 people. The only locations in L.A. that can hold that many mourners are The Forum in Inglewood and Staples Center in Downtown L.A.
California prosecutors charged Nipsey Hussle’s suspected killer, 29-year-old Eric Holder, with one count of murder on Thursday—four days after Nipsey was gunned down. Holder reportedly fled the scene in a getaway car and remained at large until Tuesday afternoon, when he was arrested in Bellflower, California. He remains in custody on $5 million bail. Holder's attorney Chris Darden has entered a not guilty plea on his client's behalf.
