Snoop Lion, the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg, has become the latest high-profile contributor to give money toward the funeral of a 6-year-old girl shot in Moreno Valley last weekend.
His rep confirmed that he gave Tiana Ricks’ family an undisclosed amount in donations and feels her death was “heartbreaking.”
“Little 6-year-old girls are not supposed to die from a gunshot. But it keeps happening,” Snoop said. “From the mass shootings in Aurora and Newtown, to gang violence in the streets and murders in our own backyards, too many tears are being shed, too many young lives are being cut short. We need to come together to change this.”
“Beautiful Tiana loved to play the piano — she had a whole life ahead of her which she should have been filled with love and music,” Snoop added.
Tiana and her father, Tyrell Ricks Jr., 26, were standing in the driveway of a Moreno Valley home when two men approached them and then proceeded to open fire.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Tiana died later while at a hospital.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Lisa McConnell said Tuesday the fatal shooting could “possibly be gang-related.” But she also shared that Tiana’s father was not known to have any gang affiliation.
Rapper The Game posted a picture of Tiana to his Instagram and said “very sad story hit me in a place nothing ever has.” He has donated $10,000 for Tiana’s funeral this week.
As we reported, The Game wrote he read Tiana’s story while in Australia and “immediately” tracked down her mother. When he learned the family was trying to raise money to cover the funeral, the rapper wrote, he called his accountant.
“To lose a child is to lose your soul,” he told The Times in a statement. “My prayers are with her family.”
The $10,000 The Game pledged was apart of the Robin Hood Project, which involves the rapper giving away a total of $1 million before Christmas “to people I come in contact with around the world.”
Snoop also pointed to a larger project — his anti-violence campaign that shares the name of a song he released this year.
“We’ve lost too many kids to senseless gun violence — and these circumstances inspired the launch of my anti-violence campaign in 2013 to get communities to embrace #NoGunsAllowed,” he said in his statement. “Tiana’s loss reminds us of the urgent work we still have left to do. Love and peace with her family.”
No comments:
Post a Comment