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Memphis Legend Young Dolph Gunned Down in his Home Town

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(Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)

Popular rapper Young Dolph was shot and killed in Memphis Wednesday afternoon.

Maurice Hill, the owner of the shop where the shooting happened, Makeda’s Butter Cookies, told FOX13 his employees said Young Dolph, 36, walked into the store to buy cookies. Someone then drove up and shot and killed him at the South Memphis bakery.

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The Memphis rap legend was no stranger to the bakery. A week before being shot to death, Young Dolph was there, spreading love and promoting the business.

The rapper, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr. is more than well-known in the Memphis community–he’s definitely his community’s celebrity.

Young Dolph began getting national attention in 2014 with the release of his mixtape “High Class Street Music 4″ and the single “Preach,”.

In 2016, he released his debut studio album, King of Memphis.

The rapper leaves behind hits such as “On the River”, “Cut It”, “Get Paid” and “Major”.

Young Dolph was just as much a family man as he was a rapper. That’s one of the main reasons how the Memphis star struck a chord with young audiences and a wide variety of audiences.

(Photo credit: Instagram)

(Photo credit: Instagram)

(Photo credit: Instagram)

The news of his death was a shock to music fans, who flocked to stream his music. Many also flocked to the page of his longtime partner, Mia Jaye, to post words of encouragement and send their condolences.

The fact that Jaye, who spoke out against senseless violence within the community that kills Black men, lost her love to gun violence left many wanting to offer her support.

Dolph did his last known interview with Memphis TV station WREG two days before his death, showing support for a local cancer clinic where several of his family members received treatment.

Dolph visited the West Cancer Center & Research Institute in Germantown, where he met with staff members and told them how much he appreciated their work.

Dolph said he had an aunt who was currently in treatment at the center, and his grandmother and uncle had previously come through the doors of the West Clinic.

“Over the years, I had several family members to come through here and been patients of this clinic, so I just really wanted to show up and show them my support, and show them how thankful I am, just for them being there,” he said.

The Impact of Young Dolph on Children & the Community

“It just really struck my heart to see yet another person killed in Memphis in daylight, in a public place, doing something regular, going to get cookies, you know. Going to the store. Crossing the street,” says school psychologist Dr. Kay Streeter. “All of this violence is really causing a lot of trauma for our children, for our parents, for our teachers, for every one. And years from now, we will look back and see how all of this trauma has affected all of us.”

“Secondhand trauma is basically you’re experiencing some of the same symptoms that a person with post traumatic stress syndrome would experience, but you didn’t directly experience the traumatic event.”

“So when teachers are looking at their students, they may see what I call one of the Detrimonious D’s: destructive behavior, disruptive behavior, disengagement, dreamy behavior such as falling asleep or daydreaming, dreary behavior, such as being sad, or danger obsession which is hypervigilant behavior. So you may see some of that in your classroom. You may see kids being disruptive, not paying attention, destructiveness, tearing up things, because they’re trying to deal with a lot of different feelings that are happening all at once and trying to process what they just saw or heard about.”

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