(CNN) Rapper and LGBT activist Kevin Fret was shot to death Thursday as he rode a motorbike in Puerto Rico, CNN affiliate Noticentro.tv reported.

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican was renowned as the first openly gay artist in the Latin trap genre. Novicentro.tv reported local police as saying he was killed as he rode through the capital, San Juan.

Fret's death is part of a wave of violence affecting the island of an estimated 3.3 million people, the broadcaster said, with 24 murders so far this year.

Fret was killed in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan around 5.20 am, it said.

The artist regularly addressed fans through his Facebook page and was outspoken on issues affecting the LGBT community. His most recent video, Soy Así, has more than 700,000 views on YouTube.

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