Zachary “ZackTV” Stoner: Fast Facts About Chicago YouTube Vlogger Killed in Drive-By Shooting

A well-liked YouTube vlogger identified for showcasing and interviewing up and coming Chicago rappers and different fashionable figures in the world was shot and killed early Wednesday morning (Could 30). Chicago police mentioned 30-year-old Zachary Stoner, often known as “Zack TV,” was shot a number of occasions in the town’s South Loop neighborhood. Stoner was driving his Jeep round 1:30 a.m. native time when a driver of one other car pulled up beside his automotive and fired a lot of pictures, police mentioned. Zack was shot in the pinnacle and neck earlier than he hit a curb and crashed into a lightweight pole, WGN 9 reported. He was rushed to Northwestern Hospital in essential situation, the place he later died of his accidents. Video footage exhibiting the taking pictures’s aftermath was posted on social media (see under). A person might be heard frantically shouting “Let’s go!” as a number of others run from a broken Chevy Caprice to a 3rd automotive that was on the scene, which drives away. The footage reveals a taxi passing the fleeing automotive earlier than backing up and stopping on the scene. Buddies mentioned Stoner had simply left a rap live performance at Refuge—a nightclub lower than half a mile from the scene of the taking pictures. Police haven’t recognized the suspected shooters and are nonetheless piecing collectively proof to assist discover them. Right here’s what it is advisable to learn about Zachary “ZackTV” Stoner and his taking pictures demise: 1Zachary “ZackTV” Stoner was shot a number of occasions in the pinnacle and neck whereas driving his Jeep, which crashed into a lightweight pole. [embedded content] WGN 9 Information reported that Zachary Stoner (aka “ZackTV”) was driving his Jeep Cherokee round 1:30 a.m. native time when he shot a number of occasions in the pinnacle and neck by bullets fired from one other automotive. 001:8-10 pictures heardPolk, Harrison/Clark#Chicago #ChicagoScanner — C??????S?????? (@Chicago_Scanner) Could 30, 2018 001:Male shot 700 S ClarkA number of GSWs together with head#Chicago #ChicagoScanner — C??????S?????? (@Chicago_Scanner) Could 30, 2018 After dropping consciousness, Stoner hit a curb and crashed into a lightweight pole. He was taken to Northwestern Hospital in essential situation and was pronounced lifeless at 4:20 a.m, the Chicago Solar-Instances reported. Based on buddies of Stoner, he had simply left a rap live performance at Refuge—a nightclub lower than half a mile away from the scene—proper earlier than the taking pictures. “I’m listening to tales like they could have been mad at him as a result of he did interviews with sure rappers,” mentioned pal Phor Robinson, a actuality TV star on the VH1 present ‘Black Ink Crew Chicago.’ “However that’s not his fault for him doing his job. I don’t know why anybody would assault Zack and shoot him. He’s not that kind of particular person. He confirmed like to all people in Chicago.” Robinson believes his pal might have been an unintended goal of the taking pictures. “It simply [doesn’t] make sense that they’d simply kill Zack and drive off. I don’t know if it was a setup or what… I don’t know in the event that they [were] personally taking pictures at him, or if it was someone he was with,” Robinson mentioned. “I don’t know what it was. All I do know is my pal is gone.” Chicago police are nonetheless investigating the taking pictures, and up to now, they don’t have any suspects in custody. Chicago activist and mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Inexperienced, who can also be a pal of Stoner’s, mentioned he’s providing a $1,000 to anybody who has any info that will result in an arrest and conviction. My pal.. WOW! Seen a couple of occasions in the previous couple of weeks. Was nearly to do an interview for my marketing campaign! I need to provide an award for info resulting in the arrest of the suspects. That is sickening! https://t.co/suZZQNPpI9 — Ja’Mal Inexperienced (@JaymalGreen) Could 30, 2018 2Video footage reveals vehicles fleeing the homicide scene and a person might be heard yelling “Let’s go!” in the clip. [embedded content] Somebody who heard the gunshots and other people shouting from under their house recorded a video of the scene from their mobile phone. Within the video, Stoner’s jeep might be seen, in addition to three males leaping from one automotive into one other, leaving a broken Chevy Caprice behind as they fled the scene. One of many males might be heard frantically yelling “Let’s go!” in the clip as they run from the Caprice and pile into a 3rd tan-colored. The footage additionally reveals a taxi passing the fleeing automotive earlier than backing up and stopping on the scene. “I heard a few people say, ‘Let’s go,’ they usually have been yelling and leaping up and down in the center of the road in the nighttime,” mentioned Reyna Levine, who lives close to the place the taking pictures occurred. “There wasn’t plenty of site visitors, however there was a few bystanders and there was a taxi cab. After they sped off, the bystander and the taxi cab [driver] engaged and referred to as emergency providers,” Levine mentioned. 3Zachary Stoner had a well-liked YouTube channel referred to as “ZackTV” (aka “The Hood CNN”) with over 170,000 subscribers the place he interviewed and promoted up-and-coming Chicago rappers. He additionally interviewed buddies of Kenneka Jenkins, the younger girl who was discovered lifeless in a lodge freezer. Zachary Stoner was identified for interviewing and selling a lot of up-and-coming Chicago rappers by way of his “ZackTV” YouTube channel, which boasted over 170,000 subscribers and featured 1000’s of movies, some with tens of millions of views. He additionally interviewed Chicago gang members and highlighted the town’s notorious gun violence drawback. [embedded content] Stoner was credited with giving a few of Chicago’s most controversial artists their first on-camera publicity, together with then-teenage drill music pioneer Chief Keef. He additionally posted clips exhibiting younger males from rival gangs flashing weapons and threatening one another. Stoner described himself on Twitter, the place had had over 14Ok followers, because the “greatest interviewer in the world” who took his religion in God and his digicam to “a few of the harmful hoods in America.” Eerily, certainly one of his final tweets posted simply hours earlier than his homicide was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the “demise” of rapper Drake on account of his beef with Pusha T. October 24, 1986 Could 29, 2018 R.I.P. Aubrey Drake Graham ???? — TheRealZacktv1 (@TheRealZacktv1) Could 30, 2018 ZackTV mentioned in an April interview with the Chicago Defender that he needed to indicate another view of Chicago and its residents together with his YouTube channel, which was usually nicknamed the “Hood CNN.” “I needed to indicate the world the opposite facet of Chicago. Again once I was rising up, we had Widespread and Kanye West. These are nice brothers and nice entertainers, however I didn’t suppose they represented Chicago the best way that I’ve seen Chicago,” Stoner mentioned. “I needed to indicate the world what the opposite facet of Chicago appears like … our tradition—the best way we gown, what we eat, how we discuss, how we stroll.” The Defender wrote that Stoner “paperwork what others neglect and repeatedly interviews personalities who many had hoped would by no means grace a digicam. His movies usually are not fluffy, glitzy, and mawkish documentary shorts; quite the opposite, they’re extra like visceral punches to the intestine that may go away you both impressed for change or disturbed by actuality.” “Lots of people respect what I do. I’m the ‘Hood CNN,’” Stoner advised The Defender. “A information station is one-sided. They’ll get your full interview, however they’ll reduce and edit and put no matter they need out. No matter you say to me will get put out in full irrespective of if it’s optimistic or damaging. I present each side.” Two of ZackTV’s hottest interviews have been with buddies of Kenneka Jenkins, the younger girl was who grew to become the topic of a viral story and public investigation after she was discovered lifeless in a freezer at a Chicago lodge. [embedded content] In a single interview, Zack spoke with Jenkins’ pal Irene Roberts, who additionally went viral on social media in reference to the case after her Fb Dwell video exhibiting the lodge occasion was dissected by web sleuths in an effort to find out what occurred to Jenkins. [embedded content] One other interview was with two males who have been additionally on the lodge occasion earlier than Jenkins was discovered lifeless. Each interviews have been printed in November 2017, two months after Kenneka’s demise, which was finally dominated an accident. Simply three days earlier than Stoner’s homicide, Jenkins was remembered on Sunday (Could 27) throughout a tribute on the Crowne Plaza Resort in Rosemont, Illinois the place she died. The celebration of life marked what would have been the Chicago teen’s 20th birthday, ABC7 reported. [embedded content] ZackTV’s most up-to-date interview was posted on Sunday (Could 27), that includes Drake of Chiraq discussing the current taking pictures demise of Chicago rapper Mubu Krump and King Yella being in federal jail. 4Shut buddies of Zack’s say he was a peacemaker who seemed out for everybody and would search for methods to assist rival gangs settle their distinction to assist decrease Chicago’s violent crime charges. JP “Jaepilla” Lee, proprietor of Groundzero Studios, had identified Zachary Stoner since 2002. He mentioned Stoner’s ZackTV YouTube channel was thought-about the “Hood CNN” due to its affect with younger folks in the neighborhood. Lee mentioned certainly one of ZackTV’s missions was to assist rival gangs settle their variations, which in flip would assist decrease Chicago’s violent crime charges. Lee mentioned weeks earlier than Zack’s homicide he contacted him about an concept he needed to hyperlink up with Chicago’s rival gangs and report a collaboration tune and accompanying music video. “What’s even worse about all this sh*t is Zack simply hit my line a pair weeks in the past speaking about organising a couple of blocks of studio time to do a collaboration tune with all of the Chicago ‘organizations’ and their rivals and was gonna have me report the tune and he was gonna drop a video and all to it,” Lee mentioned in a Fb publish. “It was dope to see him make his personal lane and turn out to be very profitable at it.” 5Zachary Stoner headed a for-profit collaborative referred to as “Good Brothers” that did plenty of neighborhood service work in Chicago. Zachary Stoner’s 37-year-old enterprise associate and mentor Tony Woods mentioned Stoner didn’t get the credit score he deserved for his work behind the digicam. “Folks don’t see what he does behind the scenes,” Woods advised The Chicago Defender. “There have been many events the place a man will name Zack on his approach to journey on his opps (slang for enemies) and Zack would discuss him down. The brother has a jail telephone. He sends cash to incarcerated brothers and takes care of their households. Folks don’t get to see that facet of it. They assume as a result of he’s interviewing the GD’s or BD’s that he’s fanning the flames and that’s not the case.” Together with Tony Woods and actor Curtis Toler, Stoner headed for-profit collaborative referred to as “Good Brothers.” Toler mentioned the identify got here from how they check with stand-up males in their neighborhood. “The identify is self-explanatory,” Toler mentioned. “In Chicago, we use plenty of totally different phrases like ‘beloved.’ Cats in LA and New York begin to use our lingo. ‘Good Brother’ is a time period of endearment and in addition vouching for an individual’s character.” “The Good Brothers is a behind-the-scenes group that prides itself on doing neighborhood service work,” The Chicago Defender wrote. The group has mentored youth, hosted workshops instructing youth methods to monetize their social media presence, they usually additionally partnered with a church for a gun buyback occasion. Final November, The Good Brothers used ZackTV’s platform after they went to attempt to dealer a peace treaty between two rival gangs in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood. Earlier than his demise, Stoner, who pressured entrepreneurship, tweeted that he and “a couple of different necessary folks in the town” have been because of host a seminar on Thursday (Could 31) to assist folks seeking to begin their very own companies. ? Meals ? Drinks ????????Who all searching for jobs or seeking to begin their very own enterprise, for entrepreneurship. I together with a couple of different necessary folks in the town might be throwing a seminar this Thursday in Roseland At 11209 s. Michigan at 1:00 p.m. All are invited? — TheRealZacktv1 (@TheRealZacktv1) Could 30, 2018 “We’re making an attempt to make peace worthwhile. Folks make some huge cash off of violence,” mentioned Woods. “The authorized system. Social service organizations. Non-Income. The folks make a bag off of us, demise, and every part that goes mistaken in the neighborhood. We are able to use Zack’s platform as a technique of selling peace not directly.” The Defender described ZackTV as the town’s “Bat Sign” and “The Good Brothers are are Batman coming to Gotham’s rescue.” ZackTV challenged conventional journalism by not being afraid to handle the problems that he lined, “a mannequin value emulating given the connection with Black communities and exploitative media,” wrote the Defender. Stoner—who mentioned he needed to “change Chiraq into Chicago”—defined to The Defender: “For those who examine ZackTV’s interviews, you’ll discover that on the finish of them, I usually ask ‘What can we do to resolve the violence in Chicago?’ However plenty of younger males really feel that their hood will look down on them in the event that they needed to repair the issue. Lots of people might have a look at these people like they’re thugs, ghetto hoodlums, or nobodies. However to me, I have a look at every artist as a human being that’s caught in this field that they’re making an attempt to get out. While you’re in the hood—ghetto, city communities, no matter you need to name them—it’s a lifestyle but additionally survival ways. By no means decide a ebook by its cowl. By no means look down on the following man.” 6Followers of ZackTV and members of the Chicago Hip-Hop scene have taken to social media to supply their condolences concerning Zachary Stoner’s demise. Zachary “ZackTV” Stoner pictured right here with Chicago rapper Mubu Krump, who was additionally killed in a drive-by taking pictures simply days earlier than Stoner. As information of ZackTV’s demise unfold, tributes started to pour in on social media, with many praising him for his work shining a lightweight on folks usually missed by mainstream media. Andrew Barber, founding father of the Hip Hop weblog Pretend Shore Drive tweeted: “RIP ZackTV — a dope Chicago journalist,” to which Likelihood the rapper replied, “Oh no man RIP.” RIP ZackTV — a dope Chicago journalist — Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) Could 30, 2018 Oh no ????? man RIP — Likelihood The Rapper (@chancetherapper) Could 30, 2018 See extra poignant tributes under: Rip ?? @TheRealZacktv1 u did a lot for Chicago that the folks with energy did not even do. Relaxation up Chicago legend ?#zacktv — Daishun Luckett (@DaishunL) Could 30, 2018 I actually revered what #ZackTV was doing and I watched his interviews day by day and his IG lives when he was educating us about some actual shit ? — JohnGlockton (@ProdbyJbandz) Could 30, 2018 R.I.P #Zacktv man. Shit is mindless — … (@KGSenpai) Could 30, 2018 I ain’t see no person in Chicago take a child off the road , deal with him like household purchase him kicks meals all that Shit simply to let lil homie know SOMEBODY OUT HERE CARE ABOUT YOU. @TheRealZacktv1 #ZackTv was an actual dude for that and Chicago wanted him actual discuss ? — Keyshon Santana (@ShonDouble0G) Could 30, 2018 Rattling by no means thought this might occur to you ? thanks for exposing me to the nice expertise and superior,tradition of your metropolis my life obtained much more turnt reason behind you ? from the 100’s to the world zacktv4L #ZackTV ? pic.twitter.com/DMTR72agBQ — Hagan beyers ?? (@iamwacko_demon) Could 30, 2018 RIP to ZackTV. He helped me out alot giving me 2 interviews plus recommendation n assistance on my channel, at all times inspired me n supported me from the beginning. I owe him alot. Im prayed up and able to go cuz each public particular person in chicago is a goal. RIP Zack BIP Eternally ?? — Chicago World Information (@Provatakis) Could 30, 2018 If it wasn’t for Zack, half these Chicago rappers now wouldn’t even be on the map ????? RIP #zacktv — Phase1BRose ??? (@bw1426) Could 30, 2018 Im So Sick of this Metropolis thats Why i By no means Keep In Dis Hell Gap. ? Zack Television You already know what You probably did for the Metropolis Bro You Know the Talks we Had I seen u Final Evening So Ima cherish dat Handshake u gave Me after i Carried out ?? Relaxation Up Bro ? Your soul was So Pure @TheRealZacktv1 ?? pic.twitter.com/GRL0ONYhXy — Swagg Dinero (@SwaggDinero) Could 30, 2018 First particular person to offer me an opportunity. First particular person to interview me. #ZackTV RIP @TheRealZacktv1 pic.twitter.com/NjYuMpyS3I — LAKA (@LakaFilms) Could 30, 2018 R.I.P. ZACK TV…. SMH WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING ABOUT CHICAGO — THE G.L.O.A.T. (@MATHHOFFA) Could 31, 2018 http://feeds.gossiponthis.com/~r/gossiponthis/~3/0kYCWqvRg8I/ The post Zachary “ZackTV” Stoner: Fast Facts About Chicago YouTube Vlogger Killed in Drive-By Shooting appeared first on My style by Kartia.