FOLLOW US

A gas station at 4 a.m. is usually just a quiet pit stop — a place to refuel before continuing on with the night. For Chicago drill rapper Mikquale Cooper, known to fans as BloodHound Q50, it became the setting for his final moments. Cooper, 22, was killed early Sunday morning in what police describe as an evidently coordinated shooting involving two vehicles and at least six people — an ambush that unfolded with the precision of a plan already in motion before he ever pulled up to the pump.

How the Night Unfolded

According to a police report obtained by the Tribune, Cooper had driven to a gas station on the 4200 block of South Wentworth Avenue around 4 a.m. Sunday, accompanied by a 29-year-old woman. Shortly after his arrival, two other vehicles — a black Infiniti and a silver Honda — pulled into the station, setting the stage for what would happen next.

Surveillance Footage Tells the Story

Gas station surveillance cameras captured the sequence in unsettling detail. Cooper and the woman went inside the store, while two masked occupants from the black Infiniti retrieved items from the silver Honda before returning to their own vehicle — a brief, almost mundane exchange that belied what was coming. Cooper and the woman then returned to their car, a white Tesla, apparently unaware they'd already become targets.

The Attack Erupts

Moments later, the situation exploded into violence. The pair from the Infiniti, joined by four additional people from the Honda, got out and opened fire directly on the Tesla — six shooters converging on a single vehicle in what amounted to a coordinated assault rather than a spontaneous confrontation.

Footage captured distinguishing details on the attackers: two wore a green hoodie featuring a football design on the back and a blue hoodie, while the remaining shooters were dressed entirely in black with ski masks concealing their identities, according to the report. Both vehicles were later seen on camera fleeing southbound on Wentworth.

Rushed to the Hospital, Too Late

Cooper was transported to University of Chicago Medicine with gunshot wounds to his chest and shoulder. He was pronounced dead within roughly half an hour of the attack — a devastatingly short window between the shooting and his death.

No Arrests as Investigation Continues

As of Monday morning, no one had been taken into custody in connection with the shooting. Wentworth Area homicide detectives are now leading the investigation, working to piece together exactly who orchestrated the ambush and why.

A History That Included Prior Violence

This wasn't Cooper's first brush with gun violence. Chicago Police and Cook County court records show he was previously shot in September 2023 in the 4000 block of North Central Park on the city's Northwest Side. Responding officers at the time found Cooper in possession of a Glock handgun modified with a switch to function as an automatic weapon. Court records show he later pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and was sentenced to a year in prison — a earlier chapter that hinted at the dangerous world he continued to navigate.

Remembering the Artist Behind the Name

Cooper's music label, AMF Records, shared a Sunday night Instagram post from Signal Records founder Jeffrey Vaughn addressing his death. Vaughn included two photos of Cooper and praised what he described as his "always improving pen," his instinct for music production, and his careful attention to detail when editing videos.

"Q50 was unapologetically himself and never afraid to tell his story," Vaughn wrote. He added a personal note that captured the working relationship between artist and collaborator: "Those who know know — Q50 was never shy about asking for what he wanted to see out of me and my team. I respected that immensely. I will miss him very much."

For a young artist whose voice was still evolving, the ambush at a South Side gas station brought that story to an abrupt and violent end — leaving behind unanswered questions, a grieving music community, and an investigation that has yet to identify a single suspect.