Kanye West donates $150,000 to family of security guard shot dead by police in Chicago

The 'ye' rapper made 10 separate online payments

Kanye West has donated $150,000 (£116,000) to a GoFundMe page that was set up in honour of Jemel Roberson, who was shot dead by police after he intercepted a gunman.

Roberson passed away last weekend (November 11) after he tackled a man while working as a security guard at a Chicago bar. The 26-year-old was said to have been carrying a licensed firearm at the time.

Eyewitness Adam Harris told local TV station WGN that as police arrived, Roberson “had somebody on the ground with his knee in [his] back, with his gun in his back, like, ‘Don’t move’.”

Kanye West

“Everybody was screaming out, ‘Security!’” Harris added. “He was a security guard but police saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him.”

Yesterday (November 16), the GoFundMe page – run on behalf of Roberson’s mother – received 10 payments of $15,000 (£11,600) under the name of Kanye West. See a screenshot below.

The rapper’s donations doubled the page’s target figure, with the total currently standing at over $300,000 (£230,000).

A post on Roberson’s page, which was originally set up to cover funeral costs, reads: “Once again, thank you for your generosity! The money that has been raised has gone far beyond the original goal. This will greatly support his family’s needs during this tragic time.”

Jemel Roberson’s death is currently under investigation by Illinois State Police.

Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams has said that the music community should stand by Kanye West, despite their fundamental disagreements over Donald Trump’s Presidency. West has previously called Trump his “brother” and aired support for far-right US political pundit Candace Owens.

 

 

 

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