Philly rapper LGP QUA killed in Mother's Day shooting in Juniata Park

Philly rapper LGP QUA killed in Juniata Park shooting

Philadelphia rapper LGP QUA was killed after police say an attempted robbery turned into a shooting in Juniata Park Sunday.

PHILADELPHIA - Another weekend of gun violence claimed the life of a beloved local rapper in Philadelphia's Juniata Park, and now a homicide investigation is underway.

What we know:

A 30-year-old man was rushed to a local hospital after a shooting near the intersection of M and East Luzerne streets around 4:40 p.m. Sunday.

He was pronounced dead a short time later, and was later identified by police as Qidere Johnson, also known as LGP QUA.

Dig deeper:

Law enforcement sources tell FOX 29 he was around M and East Luzerne Streets with a friend just before 5 p.m. on Mother’s Day, and they believe three individuals, wearing masks, saw that he was wearing gold chains and took the opportunity to rob him. It ended in a shooting that took his life, sources say.

"It’s an active investigation and there’s not much we can say at this time," said Assistant DA Bob Wainwright. "There’s a lot of detectives, a lot of police working on this case right now, I’m just going to leave it at that."

What we don't know:

A motive is still unknown, and no arrests have been made. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

Police have also yet to release any further details about the deadly shooting.

What they're saying:

News of LGP QUA's homicide sparked shocked responses online, along with heartfelt tributes from the community.

Multimedia Host, Mina "SayWhat" Llona, fondly looks back at an interview with Qua when she was on the radio in Philadelphia several years ago.

"His music, a lot of it was a critique on growing up in poverty and advice for young kids to make the right choices, to be who they are, to not follow the wrong crowd," she said. "His music was everything that we wanted to hear from the youth, it was the messaging that our young people needed to hear, and because he was that messenger and was that light, it makes us sad that he’s now gone."

"A violent murder in broad daylight on Mother’s Day, it’s just unfathomable," Llona continued.

Anti-violence advocate Anton Moore, of Unity in the Community, who works with youth in the city, says Qua performed at his yearly block parties and was a positive figure for the kids he works with.

It’s a senseless murder that he says reinforces his "why," especially heading into the summer.

"It wasn’t worth it, wasn’t worth putting nobody in the ground because you can’t get that back, that means Qua’s life is gone, three brothers who actually did that, one day they’ll get caught and their lives are done," he said. "There’s a lot of hopeless young people that’s in the city of Philadelphia right now, let’s grab them, let’s give them a hug, and let’s give them opportunities so they can advance themselves in society and not feel like they have to rob anyone or kill someone in life to be successful."

An Instagram page dedicated to funeral updates for the rapper posted the following statement:

"Rest In Peace to Qidere "LGP Qua" Johnson. A kid with a dream that turned to a man with a vision.

He had dreams of bettering his community using rap to influence the mind sets of the youth. So young, so much talent. Qidere was known to his friends and family as someone who would ride til the wheels would fall off.

He knew the struggles of inner city youth first hand. However he didn’t let his downfalls or setbacks deter his message.

"Hailing from North Philly, Qua traces his musical ambitions back to the city’s lyrical roots. "Philly is the home of the spitters," he maintains. "That’s what the city’s really known for." With early exposure to hip-hop, Qua first learned to rap as a child around 2005 but he wouldn’t see it as a viable career path until around 2016. After a short stint in prison, Qua reevaluated his life’s mission and gave himself fully to his craft. "The defining moment came when I went to jail," he recalls. "I like to make music and I’m tired of coming to jail; so [do I] get a job or do this rap thing and make a mark?"." - Complex 2018

Qidere deserved to grow old. In neighborhoods and systems that deemed us less Qidere wanted the youth in Philadelphia to know it was more for them to achieve. Qidere felt like if he could beat the odds any of these kids could.

Rest in Peace to Qidere Johnson. May you and your message FOREVER live on!"