May 29th 2015, the city of Chicago would suffer a terrible loss. It would be the day Shaquon Thomas aka Young Pappy would be murdered in cold blood.
According to public records, it would be the third attempt on his life, and the one that finally took the breath of an extremely talented rapper. Being a member of PBG aka the Pooh Bear Gang which was formerly known as Insane Cutthroat Gangsters, he had built up a rivalry with enemies of opposing gangs that sought to snuff Young Pappy from the world of the living. Pooh Bear Gang was created in honor of their fallen friend, Anton “Pooh Bear” Sanders who was murdered in January 2012.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/teenager-shot-to-death-in-rogers-park/1932655
The first recorded incident that almost succeeded in taking Young Pappy’s life occurred on Wednesday, February 5th 2014. According to the Chicago Tribune, police stated that four teens were in the parking lot of the McDonald’s at 6740 N. Clark St. around 3:30 p.m. when there was an argument and then gunfire. 17-year-old Markeyo Carr was struck in the head
and died while three other teens were wounded
Police would swarm the crime scene painting the area with blue lights https://youtu.be/YLDecgigwVM (0:28-0:45)
The injured included a girl, about 15, who was shot several times, an 18-year-old man who was shot in the lower back, and another 18-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the arm.
That victim who was injured in the arm was Young Pappy and he was said to be the intended target that led to the collateral damage of others there.
Surveillance footage would later be released showing what actually happened, debunking some of the details in the initial report, not of who was injured or killed, but how the events occurred that led to the shooting. Young Pappy and his affiliates can be seen walking along the vicinity of McDonald’s location when the assailant walking behind brandished a firearm and began opening fire sending everyone running https://www.reddit.com/r/Chiraqology/comments/shvy5n/heres_the_surveillance_footage_of_the_1st/
With the assassination attempt failed, it wouldn’t be long before his rivals tried again to end Young Pappy’s life, this time, taking another victim just as before while Young Pappy escaped. It was July 2014 when Young Pappy was with a photographer by the name of Wil Lewis around the 1300 block of West Devon Avenue.
Reports state that an alleged Vice Lord gang member by the name of Eric Vaughn
and two teenagers drove by and spotted a rival gang member, who in this case was Young Pappy. That is when Vaughn took a gun from the car’s center console, handed it to the teens, and ordered them to shoot the rival.
Sadly Young Pappy escaped unharmed but Wil Lewis wasn’t so fortunate. He was hit in the back and died due to his injuries
Eric Vaughn would be found guilty of first-degree murder
https://wgntv.com/news/man-convicted-for-july-2014-shooting-death-of-photographer
Young Pappy seemed to have luck on his side, but his luck would run out the following year. Young Pappy was basking in the rise of his music career as a promising rapper with talent capturing the ear of the music industry. On May 22nd 2015 he released one of his most notable tracks “Shooters” alongside featured artist Lil $hawn https://youtu.be/jKX54BxM3O4 (2:24-2:31)
As the title suggests, the song was riddled with murderous terminology of his escapades with a firearm https://youtu.be/jKX54BxM3O4 (1:38-2:04) As it stands the song has accumulated over 16 millions views and has helped shaped the drill genre of Chicago as one of the most highly regarded tracks showcasing Young Pappy’s versatile flows and heavy hitting lyricism
Little did Young Pappy know, his high off the song would be short-lived as one week later on May 29th 2015, his life was targeted and taken. 1:35 am Young Pappy along with a friend were walking along the 4800 block of North Kenmore Avenue when a gunman walked up and started shooting.
Thomas aka Young Pappy was hit twice in the back and rushed to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center,
where sadly, he was pronounced dead at 3:01 a.m. https://youtu.be/fPcACBARcV4 (1:53-2:10) https://youtu.be/VxnFLDehqaM (0:20-0:35)
According to a statement from Alderman Harry Osterman from the 48th Ward, witnesses reported seeing a black car that may have been associated with the shooting, however, investigations have been unable to track down and arrest a suspect for the murder of Young Pappy.
Other persons in the area recall what it sounded like the moment the assailant wounded Young Pappy, stating that it echoed as if about 10 gunshots rang out, but there was nothing in sight when trying to pinpoint where outside the firing came from
With officers labeling the murder as gang-related, fears of retaliation sparked unrest in the community along with law enforcement https://youtu.be/fPcACBARcV4 (0:13-0:51) Given this, Osterman stated that he requested additional security in the area to curb the possibility of retaliatory actions, but soon, it became evident that it didn’t stop the bloodshed that would soon follow
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/rapper-fatally-shot-in-uptown
Pappy’s friends and family were split between hurt and anger, some making it their duty to get revenge for Young Pappy and exacting punishment on anyone disrespecting his passing https://youtu.be/IW8H8C8Qf6U (1:47-1:54) An alleged rival gang member of Young Pappy, Clifton Frye learned that the hard way just a few days after Young Pappy was murdered. According to reports, Frye made derogatory comments about Young Pappy after his death where he made fun of the murder. By June 1st 2015, he was gunned down.
The suspect was apprehended and reported to be a then 17-year-old affiliate of Young Pappy, Germel Dossie
Reports state that Dossie had asked his friend to drive to the Rogers Park neighborhood as an apparent getaway driver on the afternoon of June 1st where he targeted Frye.
Dossie’s friend, who had parked near an alley, heard three to four shots and then saw Dossie jump back into the car with a gun following the shooting and demanded them to drive away and asked to be dropped off near Glenwood and Pratt
Surveillance footage would capture Dossie fleeing from the crime scene after the shooting, also capturing the license place of the getaway car, leading officers right to him
Frye would be declared brain dead two weeks after he was shot, after which he succumbed to his injuries, all due to a comment made about Young Pappy’s murder. That’s the level of respect he held within the community.
That was only the beginning of the bloodshed in Young Pappy’s name. Even his rivals later confirmed that after Young Pappy lost his life, his affiliates were ruthless in the streets carrying out their revenge retaliations https://youtu.be/4tBrzdTvAVs (4:37-4:57) https://youtu.be/4tBrzdTvAVs (5:44-5:52) Speculations began swirling around about how was Young Pappy murdered in his own area, and friend and affiliate PBG Kemo
offered his thoughts on the situation stating that it was a set-up that could have been between two groups of people. The first he speculated could be responsible were Pappy’s own affiliates, stating that they were around him but no one even attempted to return fire and just let the murder happen https://youtu.be/J1qpckLhSxk (4:12-4:25) https://youtu.be/J1qpckLhSxk (4:46-4:55)
According to him, at the time Young Pappy was around people who normally wouldn’t move with, but all of his trusted friends were locked up or not available to make the move with him around the time he was outside https://youtu.be/J1qpckLhSxk (5:34-6:15)
The second group of people he speculated of setting up Young Pappy to be murdered was, believe it or not, the police https://youtu.be/J1qpckLhSxk (6:18-6:28) https://youtu.be/R4LtntHlChM (1:08-1:19) It might sound farfetched, but strangely enough many believed this theory because Young Pappy was a known trouble maker to the police and they wanted him gone. His younger brother TaySav
Would relay what the cops allegedly told his mother after Young Pappy’s death, and if it is to be true, it adds credibility to the theory that they set Young Pappy up to get rid of someone who in their eyes was terrorizing the community and causing the death of innocent lives. According to TaySav, the cops told his mother that they’re glad Young Pappy was killed and that they’ll kill his older brother as well https://youtu.be/i-Tpj2vhWj4 (1:02-1:35)
TaySav also recalls the police allegedly continuously harassing them and even at one time picked him up and dropped him off in his rival’s territory hoping he would be killed https://youtu.be/i-Tpj2vhWj4 (1:54-3:08)
The cops allegedly were tired of Young Pappy endangering lives in the neighborhood. Former Rogers Park Police Cmdr. Thomas Waldera
called the music of Young Pappy “technological kerosene,” fueling the gang war raging on the street.
Their encounters have been many with Young Pappy’s charges ranging from criminal trespassing, reckless conduct, theft, marijuana possession, and felony weapon possession.
But the most serious of all was having a 5-hour standoff with SWAT at his residence in the 6300 block of North Lakewood Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood
where over 25 persons were charged https://youtu.be/fPcACBARcV4 (2:28-3:29)
Taking a look at his mugshots tells a tale of a child with so much potential but lost his way leading up to the end of his life, whether it was due to his rivals, his own affiliates, or as some speculate, the police
While many see him as a troubled youth that was living a dangerous lifestyle, his mother paints a different narrative, stating that he just took on the gang persona to boost his rap career but he was a good kid
His younger brother TaySav and older brother BuDouble
however, recall Young Pappy lived the lifestyle he portrayed so while it hurt losing him, they we’re surprised as that’s what comes with the dangerous way they lived https://youtu.be/6aTYbm1UqqM (1:24-2:16) https://youtu.be/KD_3ahTcLz0 (1:52-2:32)
They were close and came up in the same environment that took Young Pappy’s life
His older brother BuDouble would experience a phase of depression after Young Pappy was murdered, resulting in him becoming careless and almost losing his life after being shot 9 times https://youtu.be/KD_3ahTcLz0 (1:20-1:44)
Young Pappy was right there, the success within his hands. It was just to remove himself from the gang environment and focus on his music. Word is that he was on the verge of signing a record deal with label powerhouse Atlantic https://youtu.be/aXwEBQ7Hz08 (8:16-8:25) Sadly, his talent never got to bloom to the heights it was certainly going to reach. He leaves behind a catalog that to this day still boasts 224,000 monthly listeners on Spotify
Another death attributed to the history that continues to teach young kids to hate and kill each other rather than build, grow, and uplift each other.
Rest in peace Young Pappy https://youtu.be/CaRP_15RsRU (3:59-4:16)
