east flatbush

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(Local News, 2001) Rapper Shot Dead In Queens Village : A rapper known as E-MoneyBags was gunned down inside his luxury sport utility vehicle by white-gloved gunmen who sped off in a Mercedes after a hit in Queens on Monday night(16th July, 2001). Eric Smith, 29, of Brooklyn, was riddled with more than 10 bullets as he sat in his 1999 Lincoln Navigator near Witthoff Street and 111th Road in Queens Village. Witnesses told police that either three or four men approached Smith's vehicle about 9.45 p.m. Monday. At least two of them fired 9-mm handguns at the rapper from such a close range that many of the shell casings ejected from their guns landed inside his SUV, police sources said. Police sources said it appears that Smith, a fringe-rapper who recorded with some of the up-and-coming names in the business, may have been going for his own gun when he was shot because a .380-caliber handgun was found on the front floor of the vehicle. Smith, who lives in the Glenwood Houses in East Flatbush, never had a breakthrough hit of his own but appeared on records with such notable rappers as Prodigy, Mussolini and Noreaga. And like many rappers, his lyrics make reference to a violent lifestyle. Police said Smith had attended a barbecue and party at a friend's home on 111th Road just before he was killed. Throughout the evening, Smith repeatedly left the party to go to his SUV, police said. He was ambushed during one of those trips, police said. A neighbor, who asked not to be named, said the attack "sounded like firecrackers" at first but she knew it was more serious when someone started screaming, "Oh my God, oh my God." A police source said there was no clear motive in the slaying. The gunmen left a diamond-studded Rolex watch on Smith's wrist, $40 in cash in his pocket and his wallet - making robbery seem an unlikely motive, police sources said. Detectives are looking into the possibility that the killing was drug-related. Smith had a criminal record that included drug charges and a bag of marijuana was found in his pocket, police sources said. However, investigators' efforts have been hampered by party-goers, who "haven't been the most cooperative people in the world," one police source said. RIP FALLEN GENERAL E-MONEYBAGS , BIG STRETCH & BIG DRIC