Lil Wayne has been candid about the traumatic experience he endured after shooting himself in the chest as a child, and he’s always given public praise to the New Orleans police officer who saved his life that day.
According to reports, the former officer Robert Hoobler, has unfortunately passed away at the age of 65. Hoobler was reportedly found dead at his home in Jefferson Parish on Friday and his cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Robert Hoobler, affectionately known as ‘Uncle Bob,’ met Lil Wayne on Nov. 11, 1994. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was just 12 years old at the time, and authorities showed up at his home after he intentionally shot himself in the chest with a 9mm pistol.
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Wayne has spoken about the incident in his music and in multiple interviews since, but he gave the most details about the incident during an interview with Emmanuel Acho. Wayne admitted that his decision to shoot himself was the precipice for coming to terms with his mental health issues.
Robert Hoobler, the police officer who saved Lil Wayne’s life as a child, has passed away at 65🕊 pic.twitter.com/6XdtN6Jsqz
— RapTV (@Rap) July 24, 2022
During his recollection of that afternoon, Wayne revealed that Uncle Bob was the only responding officer that acknowledged he had shot himself, while every other officer searched his home for additional firearms and drugs.
How I knew I had mental health problems was I pulled the trigger. I aimed for my heart but didn’t feel a thing though do I wasn’t going through any pain. It was the shock. I woke up to the police knocking and that’s what woke me up.”
He detailed Uncle Bob discovering his bleeding chest and condemning the other officers as they ran through Wayne’s childhood home.
They saw me, they just jumped clean over me and went through the house talkin’ bout, ‘I found the drugs, I found the gun.’ And so it took a guy named Uncle Bob and he ran up there. When he got to the top of the steps and saw me there he refused to step over me. One of them yelled like, ‘I got the drugs,” and that’s when he went crazy. And he was like, ‘I don’t give a f*ck about no drugs. Do you not see the baby on the ground?'”
Despite being the hero in Wayne’s story, Officer Hoober’s career came to an end in 2012 when he was fired for using a taser on a man during an arrest.
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