Before Jonathan “DaBaby” Kirk became a superstar and had a little buzz in Charlotte, NC, he fatally shot Jaylin Craig in a Walmart in November of 2018 and claimed self-defense. In new footage obtained by Rolling Stone, his claims of defending himself from Craig and his friend have been put into question.
DaBaby shot and killed 19-year-old Jaylin Craig in 2018, a shooting the rapper claims was in self-defense.
New security footage obtained by Rolling Stone shows that DaBaby appears to be the aggressor, and contradicts key aspects of his version of events. https://t.co/TGZjJ0Da6o pic.twitter.com/M7kbKur3U9
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 25, 2022
In the never-before-seen footage that contains no sound, you can see DaBaby approached by two people: Jaylin Douglas and Henry Craig. Moments later, an altercation ensues and DaBaby can be seen attacking Douglas. XXL reports that Craig appeared “to brandish a weapon in the background but tucked it away” during this time of the incident.
The camera switches to another angle that shows the men in the aisle of Walmart. At this point, they [DaBaby and Douglas] were fighting with one another. As the two are tussling, Craig walks over and can be seen attempting to break up the situation. XXL also reports that as Craig was approaching the two men, he took out his weapon again.
The niggas preying on me can’t fuck wit the people praying for me! 🖤💪🏾
— DaBaby (@DaBabyDaBaby) April 25, 2022
The angle then shows DaBaby sliding on the ground with the gun in his right hand, and he appears to pull the trigger. But Craig getting shot cannot be seen.
If you recall, DaBaby was never charged for the fatal shooting, but he did receive a charge for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. That charge was eventually dropped in 2019 because “a key civilian witness was unavailable,” XXL reports.
Though the charge was dropped, it was presented again and DaBaby received unsupervised probation for 12 months and a suspended 30-day jail sentence.
According to Rolling Stone, they were told DaBaby wasn’t prosecuted because the prosecutors couldn’t prove he didn’t act out of self-defense.
[We] reviewed the police investigative file and agreed with the Huntersville Police Department’s decision not to charge Mr. Kirk further, as prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense.
As for the footage, it appears it wasn’t shown in court, according to Craig’s family.
Craig’s mother, Lawana Horsley, stated:
We feel like we didn’t get any justice. To have the guy look at us in court with a smirk, like he won that battle.
Following the release of the footage, DaBaby took to Twitter and posted a famous Tyrese clip, seemingly responding to the new footage.
He also took to his Instagram stories and added:
Like damn Bruh…N***as done took 30 million for me, lie on me once a week, want me to lose fights I don’t start, want my fine a** BM’s to hate me, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM MEEE?
Roomies, what do you think of the situation?