Rapper The Game raises money for family of boy shot dead in Mid-City

Rapper The Game said he’s raised $17,000 for the family of a 7-year-old boy who died in a Mid-City drive-by shooting and is calling for a cease-fire to gang violence over the holidays.

Taalib Pecannte, a second-grader, died Tuesday after being shot in the back the night before. The Compton youth football player was in a car with his mother and her 31-year-old boyfriend in the 1900 block of South Corning Street when a white vehicle drove up alongside and as many as four men unleashed a barrage of gunfire about 9 p.m.

Taalib’s mother was grazed in the leg by a bullet and her boyfriend was hit in the back. Both were listed in stable condition, police said.

As Taalib’s friends and family held a candlelight vigil in his memory Wednesday night in Compton, The Game took his Instagram account and announced he was starting a campaign to end local gang violence over the holidays.

“My son is 6 and I have a son, 10. I couldn’t imagine living life without them, period,� the Compton-native told TMZ on Wednesday. “But I mean, three weeks before Christmas man? Something wrong with that man. It’s not cool at all.�

This isn’t the first time The Game has reached out to help local victims of gang violence. In September, he and other rappers donated money to the family of 6-year-old Tiana Ricks, who was killed in Moreno Valley.

Much of the $17,000 raised for Taalib’s family came from local gang leaders, The Game told TMZ. He said calling a cease-fire through the holidays was just the beginning.

“What you want to do is make sure no other kids get shot then in January, we talk about January,� he said. “But if you just say ‘stop the violence’ that goes in one ear and out the other.�

Police have made no arrests in Taalib’s shooting and no motive has been determined, though police said it appeared to be gang-related.

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