Notorious former rap music mogul Suge Knight is suspected of running two men over in his truck Thursday afternoon after an argument on a film set in Compton.

The confrontation began around 3 p.m. when Knight and two unidentified men began arguing on the set of “Straight Outta Compton,” a biopic about the group N.W.A., said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detective’s unit.

At least one of the victims was a member of the film crew, Corina said.

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About 20 minutes after the alleged argument on set, the victims visited Tam’s Burgers near Central and East Rosecrans avenues, authorities said.

Knight, 49, is believed to have followed the men in his truck before running them over in the parking lot, Corina said.

Witnesses said the truck hit the men, then backed over them before leaving the scene.

“They obviously knew each other,” Corina said. “They got into some kind of verbal altercation and it escalated. So far the people we talked to said it looked like an intentional act so we are handling it like a homicide.”


One of the victims, a 55-year-old man, died. The other, a 51-year-old man, sustained undisclosed injuries, Corina said.

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The incident is being investigated as a homicide.

A staff member for Knight’s lawyer, James E Blatt, confirmed Blatt has been in discussion with Knight about the “next steps.” Around 10 p.m., Blatt told the Los Angeles Times, “there is just too much going on right now to talk about it.”


Knight’s name was trending worldwide on Twitter late into the evening.

Knight co-founded Death Row Records with Dr. Dre in 1991 and built it into the first rap label to consistently dominate the pop scene.

In 1996, Knight, who has a long history of run-ins with the law, was at the wheel of a BMW in Las Vegas when passenger and popular rapper Tupac Shakur was shot by gunmen in another vehicle. Shakur died a week later, and the case has not been solved.

In 1997, Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison for violating the terms of his probation from an earlier assault case. He was released from prison in 2001 but was sent back to jail two years later for violating parole when he hit a parking-lot attendant.


In 2006, Knight filed for bankruptcy. He put his Malibu mansion up for sale the following year. In 2008, he was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of drug possession and aggravated assault. The next year, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.

Last August, Knight and two others were shot inside a packed West Hollywood nightclub at a pre-awards party hosted by singer Chris Brown.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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