Lexington rapper dies after being shot while making music video

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Lonnie Oxendine was killed Sunday evening while chasing his dreams.

“We’re just happy he was doing something he loved when he was taken from here,” said Arial Oxendine, Lonnie’s cousin.

Police say the shooting happened around 5:15 p.m. outside the Marriott Hotel at City Center. Oxendine, a 22-year-old up and coming rapper, was shooting a music video.

“He wasn’t out there like that. Not a bad child. He had dreams and aspirations and what he wanted to do with himself,” his mother Lonetta Oxendine said.

With him that night were his sister, cousins, and two-year-old son.

“His son loved him. He loved his son. He looked just like him,” said Destiny Gardner, the mother of Lonnie’s son.

Family members say Oxendine and a promoter had a disagreement over money. The two went outside, which is when folks heard gunfire. Oxendine died at the hospital, his son by his side.

“It was a safe place for him to be with his dad. Nobody would have thought violence would go down. He was with his dad while he was working,” Arial said.

Family members say Oxendine loved all three of his sons. They say he was a family man with a big heart, a young man on bright mission.

Those who knew Oxendine say he was a star. In the midst of tragedy, they’re focusing on his music and the good memories.

Police arrested 25-year-old Jacouri Burns for Oxendine’s death Monday. Burns is charged with murder and second-degree assault.

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