Miami rapper Baby Cino shot and killed while leaving jail

Baby Cino, a 20-year-old aspiring rapper from Miami, Florida, was shot and killed moments after his release from jail.

According to the Miami Herald, the emcee, born Timothy Starks, was on his way home from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre when someone in another vehicle fired nearly 40 shots into the car he was in. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds, dying at the scene after a shot to the head. His friend Dante’ Collins Banks, who picked him up from jail, survived the shooting. He was transported to the Jackson Memorial Hospital and later released with minor injuries.

Starks, who law enforcement says was affiliated with the “Boss Life” gang in Little Haiti, had been in jail since last Wednesday (March 16) in connection to gun charges. Per the publication, authorities pulled him over for an obscure license plate and discovered a fully loaded Glock 32 in the car. He was booked in the Miami jail soon after and eventually posted bond a few days later, dying minutes after becoming a free man.

Starks had been trying to make his mark in the rap game under the name Baby Cino. His song “Big Haiti Shottas” spoke about gun violence at a local apartment and was accompanied by a music video that paid homage to Gary “Melo” Laguerre, an 18-year-old who was fatally shot in a 2020 drive-by shooting.

As of this story, no arrests have been made in the case of Starks’ death, but a detective said “a dark-colored vehicle was seen fleeing the area at a high rate of speed.” Authorities are also trying to determine whether the shooting was connected to a “series of public ambushes in recent months that are thought to be connected to Miami street gangs,” per The Guardian.

“Detectives are looking at every motive or every bit of information based on the evidence they have here at the scene,” Miami-Dade police detective Angel Rodriguez told local station WPLG. “As you can see, the car has a significant amount of bullet holes.” He continued, “If you observed the shooting taking place or if you recall any bit of detail, no matter how minor it is, please call our Crime Stoppers tip line with your information, and remember, you can remain anonymous.”