Ezra Weah, a rapper also known as Bankroll Gambino, was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Unit Captain Jason Smith said in a Monday news conference.
A group of 10 people were gathered outside when the shooting occurred, Smith said.
The shooting was one of three mentioned by Don Lemon during Tuesday night's CNN-sponsored Democratic presidential debate.
A Saturday night shooting in Brooklyn left one man dead; and in Gilroy, California, three people were killed by a gunman Sunday and a dozen others were injured.
Authorities do not know who opened fire Sunday night in Philadelphia, but police suspect there were at least two shooters, Smith said. Ten 9mm cartridge casings, three projectiles and one bullet fragment were recovered at the scene, Smith said. But ballistics evidence indicates there were "many more rounds than that fired."
Authorities don't have any information on the shooters yet, but Smith said, they exited a black vehicle.
The other five people who were injured were transported to nearby hospitals. One was in critical condition Monday.
The specific block -- Weah was killed on Carroll Street, in the 12th district --- is a "well known area... with a propensity for violence," Smith said, adding this incident didn't seem to be connected to any other shooting.
Rapper's car had been shot at earlier that day
Police believe Weah had been shot at earlier that day, while driving his car around 4:12 a.m.
"This is corroborated by the fact that shots were heard in the area by ... officers at the time," Smith said. Authorities also found three penetrating bullet holes on Weah's vehicle, which was parked by his home when he was found shot.
The motive for the later shooting remains unknown, Smith said. It could have been retaliation or a continuation of the events earlier that day.
Weah also had a gun on him at the time he was killed, police said. That firearm had been reported stolen after a 2013 burglary in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.
Weah had four prior arrests, Smith said.
'We have no clue'
Weah's aunt, Francis Tailey, told CNN affiliate KYW the rapper "loved music."
"When he was little he used to sing in the church ... with his grandma, he used to sing in the church choir," she said. " I just can't understand, can not understand why, what happened, why they had to shoot, who did it, we have no clue, we have no idea who did it."
The artist's manager said he's determined to make sure Weah's name lives on.
"His music is going to live on forever, I want people to remember his name, Bankroll Gambino, I want them to remember it," Kenney Blake said.
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