In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Meek Mill suggested that the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and subsequent search for the shooter receives more widespread attention in the media and beyond than children who are killed at the hands of gun violence in his home city of Philadelphia.
Meek took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to vent his frustrations over trying to obtain a gun license in Philadelphia. "I had 10 rap friends killed and couldn’t protect themselves," he explained in response to authorities questioning why he wants to buy a firearm.
Amid his criticism of the subject, Meek eventually clarified that Thompson's "life matters too" regardless of what he previously stated.
The 37-year-old rapper claimed his efforts to start a program that would remove 1,000 guns from Philadelphia "got ignored."
"Nobody really care about people in the hood dying it's murders everyday," wrote Meek, who had his criminal record wiped clean last year. "I can’t even hang in Philly because it’s too many guns and I don’t wanna adapt to the habitat."
The discussion about guns and senseless violence in his home city led to his commentary about the discrepancy in coverage when it came to Thompson's murder versus the children who have been killed in his city.
According to the Philadelphia Police Crime Map and Stats, there have been 244 reported homicides in the city, as of December 11. That figure is down from the total of 394 at this time last year. There were 410 homicides in Philadelphia in 2023.
