CHICAGO – Squeak, a disc jockey and producer who was a member of Chicago’s Pivot Gang, was fatally shot Monday night, authorities said. He was 26.
Squeak’s legal name was Javunte Wheeler, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Wheeler and his uncle, Darion Hood, 27, were both killed, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to the Chicago Police Department, both men were shot in the head by “an unknown offender” and were taken to an area hospital, where they died of their injuries, People reported.
Rayvita Pernell, Wheeler’s younger sister, told the Sun-Times that surveillance video from a Ring doorbell showed the men were killed by a passenger in her brother’s car.
Wheeler had driven to his grandmother’s home, then stepped outside to speak with his uncle, Pernell told the newspaper.
“This person was in the car with him and he knew him,” Pernell told the Sun-Times. “So apparently he trusted him and took him to his grandmother’s home and was talking with him at the trunk of the car and this is what happened.”
Wheeler produced the Pivot Gang, a Chicago artist collective that included rapper Saba, Joseph Chilliams, Frsh Waters and MFn Melo, Rolling Stone reported.
In June, Wheeler released his debut project, a collaboration with Melo called “En Route,” the magazine reported. He also helped produce the Pivot Gang’s 2019 album “You Can’t Sit With Us” and Saba’s album, “Bucket List Project.”
Another member of the Pivot Gang, Dinnerwithjohn (also known as John Walt), was fatally stabbed in 2017, Rolling Stone reported.
Wheeler grew up with seven siblings and was one of four children adopted by his late mother, who gave him his nickname when he was a child, the Sun-Times reported.
Wheeler had a second child, a boy, in May, the newspaper reported.
”He was a sweet boy. They were all sweet. They were young kids that did kid things. There was nothing about him being on the streets,” Pernell said. “They were never violent. There were, ‘Yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes auntie.’ This is how they talked.”
Several music producers and rappers reacted to Wheeler’s death on social media.
“God bless Squeak and everyone that loves him, Great man,” Chance the Rapper tweeted.
Music producer Thelonious Martin also tweeted about Wheeler’s death, writing: “Rest in power Squeak. Love to all of Pivot Gang.”
