Rapper ‘Kenny Clutch’ named as victim in Vegas Strip shooting

GlobalPost

An aspiring California rapper known as 'Kenny Clutch' was one of the victims of a deadly shooting and car crash on the Las Vegas Strip early Thursday morning.

The rapper, whose real name is Kenneth Cherry Jr. was driving the Maserati that was targeted by a shooter in a black SUV, reports NBC Bay Area.

Police say a group of men in a black Range Rover pulled up next to the Maserati at about 4:20am on Thursday.

Shots were fired into the sports car, striking Cherry and a passenger.

The Maserati then crashed into a taxi, which exploded into flames killing two more people, reports ABC News.

"Clearly, the suspects in this shooting have no regard for the lives and safety of others," Las Vegas Metropolitan Sheriff Doug Gillespie said at a news conference Thursday.

The shooting set off a multi state search for a black Range Rover. Police do not know how many people were in the SUV but say they are armed and dangerous.

Two more people died after Clutch's Maserati crashed into a taxi cab, causing it to explode.

Three more cars and a utility truck collided at a popular spot on the Strip near the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's, leaving at least six more people injured.

Cherry's lawyer Vicki Greco told the Los Angeles Times that his death came as a shock. "Out of everyone I know in the rapping industry, there is no way I would have ever, ever expected to find that he was shot on the Las Vegas Strip in such an aggressive manner," Greco said.

"He didn't have a [criminal] record or a history. He was just a good kid trying to make it and be a good father."

Greco added that Cherry had two children.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.