Aspiring rapper fatally shot outside Bronx housing development

MORRIS HEIGHTS, The Bronx (WABC) -- The NYPD is searching for a gunman who killed an aspiring rapper in the Bronx Tuesday night.

The shooting happened just after 7 p.m. on West 174th Street near Popham Avenue in Morris Heights, just steps away from the Bronx housing development featured in his music video.

Police say 34-year-old Melvin Matties, whose rap name was Phanelli DeBlasio, was shot in the neck and died at St. Barnabas Hospital.

The shooting happened in the courtyard of the Sedgwick Houses, where the victim's "Half a Mil" video was shot.

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