Rapper's bodyguard killed outside NY film studio

NEW YORK - A bodyguard for rapper Busta Rhymes was shot dead outside a New York warehouse where the star was filming a music video.

Local newspapers said fellow recording artists Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott were among those at the packed warehouse in the borough of Brooklyn where the video was being filmed.

Some time before the shooting, police sources said, there had been an argument over noise in the studio and producers had asked several people to leave.

Shortly after midnight, several shots were fired outside the studio, killing 29-year-old Israel Ramirez. The father of three from Brooklyn was in charge of guarding jewelry for the rapper whose real name is Trevor Smith.

Nobody else was hurt in the shooting which sent dozens of people fleeing from the scene before police arrived.

Several hundred people had gathered for the video shoot which also featured 50 Cent among the celebrities making cameo appearances. It was not clear if 50 Cent was present at the time of the shooting, the latest in a catalog of violence in the hip-hop world.

Police found a handgun near the scene and at least eight spent shells. They were examining film from the video shoot as well as security camera footage to see if the homicide was caught on camera.

- REUTERS