DaBaby claimed he feared for his life and acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Jaylin Craig at a Charlotte-area Walmart in November 2018. However, this appears to be called into question in a newly obtained video by Rolling Stone.
DaBaby said he was scared for his family’s safety when he and his then-girlfriend Mariah Osborne and two children were shopping at Walmart when they were approached by 19-year-old Craig and another teen while shopping at Walmart. They allegedly threatened him and Craig drew a gun. The rapper says he then reached for his own fireman and fired to protect his family.
New Surveillance Footage
But a new report from Rolling Stone appears to challenge Jonathan “DaDaby” Kirk’s self-defense claim. The outlet obtained a video that gives the impression that DaBaby was the initial aggressor. He reportedly throws the first punch at Craig’s friend Henry Douglas hitting him in the face. Douglas was left with a bruised eye socket and a cut on the forehead that required stitches. Watch the video below.
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Craig’s mother, LaWanda Horsley feels like those investigating her son’s death “just swept it up under the rug. [Kirk] knows what he did. I’m not doing this for no fame or anything, because at the end of the day, Jaylin Craig is gone.”
Craig’s family members and his best friend, Henry Douglas allege DaBaby became annoyed after they recognized the star out shopping. They doubted he would be shopping at Walmart and circled back a few times to make sure it was him. DaBaby became agitated by this and demanded they go outside to fight him.
“That’s what eventually started it; when he took it the wrong way,” Douglas says. “We were trying to see who you are, and he took it as somebody is looking at him with a problem.”
The newly obtained footage appears to show DaBaby punch Douglas, kicking off the altercation. At one point, Craig appears to draw a gun from his waistband before returning it as he walks out of view of the camera. Later on in the footage, DaBaby pulls out a Glock and fires it at Craig, mortally wounding him. While it was later determined Craig had a gun on him, it’s inconclusive if he brandished the weapon at DaBaby. The altercation lasted less than a minute, and Craig died at the scene.
DaBaby Claims Curtis Was Trying To Shoot Him
While Douglas asserts that he never saw his friend draw a weapon, DaBaby and Mariah Osborne say he pulled one out while the rapper was tussling with Douglas. “He’s like trying to get around his homeboy and shoot me,” DaBaby told cops. “When I break loose and get free with [my] gun … his homeboy is right here, and I shoot, boom, boom, boom.”
After viewing the security footage, Jaylin Craig’s family has serious questions about how cops handled the investigation. They hope sharing their story will lead to a homicide charge for DaBaby.
“Show me my son was wrong; tell me that,” Horsley says. “I could take that, and I will be at peace, because I would have to accept the fact that my son done something that he shouldn’t have done.”
Jaylin’s father, Curtis questioned how DaBaby keeps “getting away with it” after numerous apparent assaults. “In my eyes, I feel like [Jaylin] was murdered,” Curtis said. “And [Kirk] got away with it. Everything he [does] is pretty much the same thing. He’s assaulting people, he’s getting away with it. Every case that you look at, they’re dismissing it. Why is he getting off?”