The rapper, whose real name was Justin Lishey, was hit by several shots, along with two other men who were wounded by gunfire at about 9 p.m. Saturday. The shooting occurred at a large home that had been rented for the “Millions of Models Mansion Pool Party,” police said. Dorthea Devilla, a friend of the rapper, said she stood a few away during the incident, which occurred in the backyard near a deejay. She said that she didn’t see the gun, but a man approached Justin and tried to shake his hand and the recording artist declined.
“We heard shots and everyone ran,” she said. “Then I heard Justin was shot and I ran back. He was laying on the ground and I held his hand. It took ages for the paramedics to come.”
“He was talking with a gunshot wound in his shoulder, his back and hand and I tried to keep him awake,” she said. “ ‘You’re not going to die,’ I told him.” Devilla said that Cali’s injuries didn’t seem life-threatening when he arrived at the hospital. But doctors found more gunshot wounds and discovered internal bleeding and he quickly became critical, she said.
Although hundreds attended the party, many witnesses fled the mansion after the shots were fired and before police arrived. The home in the 12400 block of Longacre Avenue had been rented out for the party, and buses shuttled partygoers to the event from a nearby church. According to a promotional flier, Kid Red, a performer with ties to R&B star Chris Brown, was scheduled to perform that evening. Lishey had posted the flier on his Kid Cali Instagram account.
As Kid Cali, Lishey had been signed to NFL player DeSean Jackson’s Jaccpot Entertainment, but the company said Monday that he was no longer affiliated with the label.
Among those who expressed condolences following Lishey’s death was rapper Snoop Dogg, who tweeted a photo of the slain performer along with the message “Rest well young g.”
With files from the LA Times
