Trill Entertainment rapper Lil Phat was shot dead outside of Northside Hospital in Sandy Springs, Georgia on Thursday evening (June 7), Sandy Springs police confirmed to CBS Atlanta.

Lil Phat, real name Melvin Vernell III, was only 19.

Fellow Trill Entertainment MC, Webbie, tweeted out the news of Phat’s murder with sadness and rage.

“RIP TO MY LIL BROTHER PHAT!” Webbie said. “LIFE SO FUCKED UP! TRILL4LIFE. YOU STUPID BITCHES THINK DEATH A JOKE UNTIL YOU LOSE SOMEBODY YOU LOVE #RIPLILPHAT. I know my trill fam niggas, they gone ride for me. #RIPLilPhat #Trill4Life.”

Rappers outside of Trill Entertainment also learned of the tragic news and reacted to it timely.

Added fellow MC Trae Tha Truth: “Damn.. RIP Lil Phat…. “

And Mack Maine: “R.I.P. Lil Phat.”

The shooting is still very much being investigated by Sandy Springs police. They arrived shortly after 6:30 p.m. yesterday to report that Phat was shot multiple times in his car on the second floor of the parking deck outside of the Labor and Delivery wing of the hospital.

"In a case like this where there's a potential shooting on the campus we lock down all the hospital facilities, no one is allowed to leave or enter the building," Russ Davis, spokesman for Northside, told CBS Atlanta after police were called to the scene at 6:30 p.m.
At 8:30 p.m., the hospital went off lockdown.

“Everybody needs to feel comfortable that they’re safe,” Davis added. “The area has been secured. It has been searched completely and thoroughly.”—Jakinder Singh

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