Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Police Hunt Gunman Who Killed Rapper in Drive-by Shooting

 The shooting took place early Sunday morning on Queens Boulevard and 84th Drive. 
Police Hunt for Gunman Who Killed Rapper in Drive-by Shooting in Queens
View Full Caption

QUEENS — Police are hunting a gunman who shot and killed a Queens rapper in a drive-by shooting in Briarwood early Sunday morning.

Lionel Pickens, 31, who was known as Chinx and was from Ozone Park, had stopped his silver Porsche at a red light on Queens Boulevard and 84th Drive around 4 a.m. when another car pulled up alongside, according to the NYPD

Seconds later a barrage of bullets was fired from the second car without warning, officials said.

The rapper, who was in the car with his friend, Antar Alziadi, 27, was shot multiple times in the torso and legs, police said.

Pickens turned his car onto 84th Drive and crashed on the corner of Queens Boulevard in front of Dunkin Donuts, sources said.

Both victims were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where Pickens was pronounced dead. Alziadi, who was shot twice in the back, was listed in critical condition, police said.

Officials said that Alziadi was not able to provide a description of the other car or the gunman.

As fans created a makeshift memorial in front of Dunkin Donuts, leaving flowers, notes and candles, the car remained on the block until Sunday evening, with seven bullet holes visible in the two windows on the driver’s side.

Earlier that night Pickens, who had sung in the past with rapper French Montana, performed in Red Wolf club in Bensonhurst, police said.

Chinx and Alziadi were planning to go to hookah bar Cloud 9 in Fresh Meadows but it was closed so they decided to call it a night and the rapper was driving his friend to a subway station when the shooting occurred, police said.

Authorities said that Pickens, who grew up in Far Rockaway, had several prior arrests including for robbery and drug sales. According to state Department of Correction records, he spent more than three years in prison.

Another rapper, Meek Mills, tweeted on Sunday, “Can't let these suckas shatter ya dreams! RIP CHINX!”

In another tweet he wrote, “And the hood gotta stop glorifying suckas that kill good people!”

No arrests had been made as of Monday morning and the motive behind the shooting remains unclear, police said. 

The investigation is ongoing.