Conspiracy theories swirled in the days after West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot to death. One of the theories claimed Nipsey was under police surveillance when he was shot. This time the conspiracy theories weren’t too far off the mark.
Nipsey, 33, was shot and killed by a former gang member outside his Marathon clothing store in Los Angeles on March 31. According to a police report obtained by Page Six, Nipsey was under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department at the time of his death.
Law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies were out in full force, taking surveillance pictures and videos of all who attended Nipsey’s star-studded funeral at the Staples Center.
The joint investigation, which included the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, surveilled gang activity at a strip mall where the Grammy-nominated rapper owned several stores and a fast food restaurant, according to the New York Times.
The rapper was an unrepentant member of the notorious Rolling 60s Crips street gang. There are unconfirmed rumors that he used his music and various businesses as fronts for gang activity and money laundering.
According to Page Six, the probe is still ongoing into Nipsey’s various businesses, which include a barbershop and a cell phone store.
The ongoing investigation almost led to Nipsey’s eviction from the strip mall before the rapper, his brother Samiel Asghedom, and a group of partners raised $2.5 million to purchase the mall, the report said.
Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images