Express & Star

Kanye West donates 150,000 dollars to family of security guard killed by police

Jemel Roberson was shot after apprehending a gunman who opened fire at the bar where he worked.

Published
Kanye West

Kanye West has donated 150,000 dollars (£117,000) to the family of a security guard shot and killed by police in the US.

The American rapper paid the money through a GoFundMe page set up to cover the burial costs for Jemel Roberson, 26, who died on November 11.

Mr Roberson, a black man, was working as a security guard at a bar near Chicago when a gunman opened fire inside. He apprehended the shooter and pinned him down but was shot and killed by a white police officer arriving at the scene.

Records on the GoFundMe page for Jemel Roberson show Kanye West made 10 donations of 15,000 dollars (Credit: GoFundMe/PA)

Setting up the GoFundMe page on the day he died, fundraisers wrote: “Sadly, Jemel’s life was tragically and unexpectedly cut short this morning as he tried to save others from senseless violence.

“Today, many remember him as a hero; one who put others before himself.”

West made 10 donations of 15,000 dollars on Saturday, meeting the target set to pay for Mr Roberson’s burial costs.

A spokeswoman for GoFundMe confirmed the company had verified the donations but added it was not the biggest donation from an individual to a single campaign.

More than 300,000 dollars (£235,000) has so far been raised by over 5,000 people in the seven days since the fundraising page was established.

West has not commented publicly on the donations but on Sunday he tweeted: “We believe in love. We don’t just try we do.. we are… We are love.”

Mr Roberson leaves behind a nine-month-old son with his long-term partner, who is pregnant with their second child.

The Roberson family attorney told CNN he was working extra shifts to buy gifts for his son.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.