Atlanta police Saturday morning continued to investigate the shooting death of rapper Slim Dunkin late Friday night.
Slim Dunkin, whose real name is Mario Hamilton, died Friday night after being shot at an Atlanta recording studio.
The shooting happened along Memorial Drive in southeast Atlanta.
Investigators said Hamilton, 24, was shooting a music video at the studio when something went wrong.
“Now it’s my understanding prior to the video shoot, Mr. Hamilton became involved in a verbal altercation with another individual who we believe produced a handgun, discharged that weapon at least one time, striking Mr. Hamilton in the chest,” Major Keith Meadows with the Atlanta Police Department said.
Police said they have questioned about eight people who were at the studio at the time of the shooting, but Meadows said police are not ready to name a suspect in the shooting.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what triggered the argument and who the shooter is, along with what the relationship was between the shooter and Hamilton.
Hamilton was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“I would say he’s a star before he became a star. He started rapping a couple of years ago, and basically his career has just went to the top. Literally, in just a short amount of time,” said close friend Covergirl. “He was dedicated to it and I just talked to him, I saw him today. But I actually just talked to him the other day, one of the things he told me was he probably was going to make it the top. So, I can’t believe this happened today. I feel like one of our greatest got his life ended, definitely short, way before his time. And I just can’t believe it.”
Hamilton was a close affiliate with Atlanta-based rapper Waka Flaka Flame.
By Saturday morning, Hamilton’s Facebook page had filled with condolences.
“I feel one of our greatest got his life ended definitely short. Way before his time, and I just can’t believe it,” one person wrote.
“It didn’t need to turn out with somebody being shot. It wasn’t a gunshot. It wasn’t a street beef. It was just two kids arguing, and one took it to a different level,” a friend of Hamilton’s told Channel 2 Action news outside Grady Memorial Hospital.
