Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Texas rap artist known as Xavier Roberson, a father, activist, entrepreneur and professional basketball player known as "Obe Noir," was chased and fatally shot on a Houston street Monday, officials said. Police are now asking the public for any information they have in finding those responsible for his killing.
He was only 31.
The fatal incident took place around 3:40 a.m. on Monday. Witnesses saw Noir running down the street after hearing gunfire in the distance, Houston Police Department Homicide Division Sergeant T. Hollohazy and Detective B. Evans said in a statement.
A vehicle drove around the block following Noir and then stopped at 2900 Fannin Street. Two unknown men reportedly exited the vehicle and fired shots at Roberson, who collapsed in the street. The suspects then fled in the vehicle and remain at large, police said.
Noir was pronounced dead at the scene.
Friends were shocked that the promising musical artist described as “humble, kind driven, intelligent and loving” had been violently killed.
Local rapper Cal Wayne, who grew up with Roberson in Cuney Homes, a public housing complex in the Third Ward area of Houston, helped jumpstart the rapper’s music career. He told KTRK-ABC 13 News that Roberson was an “excellent storyteller.”
“This can not be real. Not you, WTF! This can’t be happening, not to you lil brother,” Wayne wrote in an Instagram post after the death of Roberson, who, according to The Source, was thought of as the “Nipsey Hussle of East Texas.”
“U ain't Deserve The way they done You. Rest Easy King,” rapper Trae Tha Truth posted on Instagram
The community activist had friends all over the world, according to his GoFundMe page. One of those friends was George Floyd, who also lived in Cuney Homes growing up. Floyd killed last May during an arrest by Minneapolis police officers that sparked a nationwide protest of police brutality, the New York Post reported. Noir was impacted by Floyd's death.
An entrepreneur, Roberson founded The Longway apparel line, a brand he described on the company’s homepage as meant “to inspire a positive movement within our culture, within our generation," and included the goal to, ”Never forget where you've been and always embrace how far you've come."
Roberson, was also a talented basketball player. Roberson played for Texas Christian University and the University of South Alabama, People magazine reported.
He played basketball professionally for Germany's Hamburg Towers, Mexico's Santos de San Luis, Argentina's Atenas de Córdoba and Colombia's Titanes de Barranquilla, according to People.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
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