Rapper Drakeo the Ruler fatally stabbed in neck at music festival

(Photo: Getty Images)

Posted: Dec 19, 2021 / 04:45 PM AST

Updated: Dec 19, 2021 / 05:30 PM AST

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LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — A man was stabbed in the neck during a musical festival near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday night, according to police. The victim was rapper Drakeo the Ruler, multiple news outlets reported.

He died of his injuries, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Once Upon A Time in LA music festival was taking place Saturday night, and headliners included 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and YG, but the performances ended after the stabbing, the festival announced shortly after 10 p.m.

The victim’s name has not been released, but he was stabbed at about 8:40 p.m., according to Officer Orris of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The man was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, said the fire department.

Media update: There has been an incident at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival at the Banc of California. The festival has concluded early. LAPD will be in the area assisting CHP w/ the investigation. Media staging is on the South Lawn at Bill Robertson south of Exposition.
— LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) December 19, 2021

Drakeo the Ruler, born Darrell Caldwell, was a Los Angeles native.

Caldwell was released from jail in November 2020 after LA County prosecutors attempted to try him on conspiracy chares in the 2016 killing of a 24-year-old man. Previously he had been acquitted of felony murder and attempted murder charges in the death.

The New York Times described him as a pioneer of “nervous music.” He was 28 years old.

The Associated Press and KTLA’s Sam Bader and Elizabeth Chapman contributed to this report.