Chicago’s Deadly Beat: OTF Rapper THF Bay Zoo Gunned Down in Little Village – Leaked Video Captures Fatal Ambush Amid Gang Shadows

The relentless rhythm of Chicago’s drill music scene claimed another casualty over the weekend, as Devonshe Collier—better known to fans as THF Bay Zoo—became the latest voice silenced by gunfire. The 35-year-old rapper, a longtime affiliate of Lil Durk’s Only The Family (OTF) collective, was fatally shot in broad daylight Saturday afternoon in the city’s Little Village neighborhood, a vibrant yet violence-plagued enclave on the Southwest Side. Collier succumbed to his wounds early Sunday at Mount Sinai Hospital, marking him as at least the fourth close associate of Durk to fall in the last decade amid escalating gang feuds that have turned street anthems into elegies.

The attack unfolded around 3 p.m. on October 25 in the 3100 block of South St. Louis Avenue, a bustling parking lot tucked between taquerias and bodegas that Collier and two companions—a 39-year-old and a 42-year-old—had pulled into for what should have been an ordinary stop. According to Chicago Police Department reports and eyewitness accounts pieced together by ABC7 Eyewitness News, an unknown vehicle crept up to the trio. Two armed assailants leaped out, closing the distance to mere feet before unleashing a barrage of bullets. Collier, struck multiple times in the abdomen and torso, collapsed amid the chaos, his body crumpling against a parked car as his associates scrambled for cover.

Surveillance footage, swiftly leaked to social media platforms frequented by drill enthusiasts, captured the harrowing sequence in stark clarity. The grainy clip—shared widely on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram before platforms began scrubbing it for graphic content—shows the gunmen sprinting forward, weapons blazing in a hail of at least 20 rifle casings and 19 9mm rounds recovered at the scene. Five nearby vehicles bore the scars of stray fire, their windshields shattered like brittle backbeats. “Yah they sprayed him,” one viewer commented under a No Jumper repost, while another lamented, “Damn, they had it out for him.” The video’s virality, amassing millions of views in hours, has drawn sharp criticism from community advocates who decry the morbid fascination with such spectacles. “This isn’t entertainment; it’s evidence of a crisis,” said Rev. Michael Pfleger, a South Side anti-violence crusader, in a Monday morning sermon.

Collier arrived at Mount Sinai in critical condition, his vital signs fading despite frantic paramedic efforts. He was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m. Sunday, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds. His companions fared better: the 39-year-old with an ankle wound and the 42-year-old hit in the arm, back, and lower body were listed in fair condition and released by Monday. No arrests have been made, and detectives from Area Central’s Special Victims Unit are combing through the footage, ballistics, and witness statements. “This was targeted—premeditated and personal,” a CPD source told the Chicago Tribune, speaking on condition of anonymity. Unverified social media whispers point to retaliation from the Black Disciples (BDs) gang, specifically a faction dubbed “Bashville Crazy” from the 71st and Wabash blocks. Posts on X alleged the hit avenged a prior diss in a freestyle track, but police urge caution: “Rumors fuel fear; facts fuel justice,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.

Born and bred on Chicago’s South Side, Devonshe Collier, 35, embodied the raw grit of drill—a subgenre born from the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods, where poverty and policing collide in lethal harmony. Rising through the THF (Tay Town Hustlers Family) set, a Black Disciples-affiliated crew from the Taylor Street corridor, Collier linked up with OTF in the early 2010s, becoming a fixture in Durk’s orbit. Tracks like “Beat Dat Body” and “War Time” showcased his gravelly flow over trap snares, chronicling block life with unflinching candor: loyalty tested, opps lurking, survival a daily diss. Collaborations with OTF heavyweights like Doodie Lo and the late King Von—Durk’s protégé gunned down in Atlanta in 2020—cemented his rep as a street sage. “Bay Zoo was the glue—never snitched, always rode,” Durk posted cryptically on Instagram Sunday, a black square captioned “LOYALTY OVA EVERYTHNG.” No official OTF statement has followed, amid Durk’s own legal quagmire: the 32-year-old platinum-seller has been jailed since October 2024 on federal murder-for-hire charges tied to a 2022 Los Angeles shooting, pleading not guilty and awaiting trial.

Collier’s past shadowed his present. In 2014, he was arrested at Durk’s Orland Park home, charged with the 2009 murder of 20-year-old Joseph Coleman in Bronzeville—a revenge killing linked to gang crossfire. Cleared by a jury in 2017 after key witnesses recanted, the acquittal scarred him but didn’t deter his hustle. “I beat the system, but the streets don’t forget,” he rapped in a 2018 freestyle unearthed post-mortem. His circle knew the risks: OTF has hemorrhaged talent to bullets, from Von’s 2020 death to rapper L’A Capo’s 2021 slaying in London. “Sit on the phone every night,” 21 Savage mourned on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of their last texts—Savage, an OTF collaborator, vowing to “hold the kids down.” Fans echoed the grief: “DAMN RIP BAY ZOO,” trended on X, alongside tributes like “Chicago lost a real one—loyalty etched in bars.”

The shooting’s timing stings deeper, landing as Durk’s pretrial motions drag on and Chicago’s homicide tally climbs toward 600 for 2025—a 15% spike from last year, per the city’s Major Incident Task Force. Little Village, a Mexican-American stronghold with murals of La Virgen de Guadalupe adorning every corner, has seen its share of spillover violence from South Side beefs. Last month, a teen drive-by at a quinceañera left two dead; now, Collier’s killing has residents barricading doors. “We came for the American Dream, not nightmares,” said Maria Gonzalez, 52, a taqueria owner blocks from the scene, her voice trembling in a Block Club Chicago interview.

As forensics teams trace shell casings and canvass for tips—the mayor’s office upped the Crime Stoppers reward to $10,000—activists demand systemic reckoning. “Drill glorifies the grave; poverty digs it,” said Tio Hardiman, CEO of CeaseFire Illinois, blasting record labels for profiting off peril. Yet Collier’s mother, speaking briefly to local station WGN, remembered her son as “a poet with a purpose—music was his shield.” Funerals for fallen rappers have become drill’s dark ritual: expect OTF flags, custom caskets, and bars etched on tombstones.

In a city where sirens harmonize with subwoofers, THF Bay Zoo’s final verse ended too soon. His death isn’t just a headline—it’s a requiem for untamed talent caught in crosshairs. Will justice drop like a diss track, or fade into static? Chicago waits, hearts heavy, hoping the beat goes on without more blood.