Surveillance footage of the deadly shooting that took the life of Artez Benton has surfaced online, showing how he and a group of men attacked Ludacris’ manager Chaka Zulu before the altercation escalated into gunfire. Zulu, who is facing murder charges in connection to the incident, which occurred on June 26 outside of his Atlanta restaurant Apt 4B, is seen approached by an entourage who wasted no time in throwing several punches at him outside of the eatery.
While it’s still unclear as to what prompted Benton to lose his cool and get physical with Zulu, TMZ reports that the deceased had arrived at Apt 4B with several acquaintances before heading inside the restaurant. After just 10 minutes, they were seen making their exit following a dispute moments prior, though officials have yet to comment on what the disagreement was about.
Damn that Chaka Zulu murder he was defending hisself..y’all was so quick to believe police and clown him when the report came out smh
— BIG JEEZY (@J_JEEZY32) September 20, 2022
RELATED: Chaka Zulu, longtime Atlanta Music Exec With Ties To Ludacris & TI Shot Overnight In Atlanta
From there, Zulu, who’d been speaking to a friend in the parking lot, went back inside and got into a quarrel with a man named Tre’mon Robinson, who is believed to have been a friend of Benton. He had already been told to leave the restaurant a few minutes earlier. Once outside, Robinson signals his associates to come over as they launch a heavy attack on Zulu, which even saw his female assistant plummet to the ground after being punched in the face.
As Zulu manages to get back on his feet, it’s believed a gun was passed to him by a man named Corey Crawford, and he doesn’t hesitate to shoot at Robinson in an act of self-defense, while another plume of smoke is noticeably seen coming from Crawford’s side, indicating that he, too, fired a gunshot in Benton’s direction.
Three people, including Zulu, were shot in the attack, with Benton being the only one who had succumbed to his injuries. One of the bullets pierced him in his chest, and though he crawls on the floor to a point of safety in the video, he died soon after.
Zulu has since been charged with murder, possession of a firearm, simple battery, and aggravated assault, according to Variety. He posted $200,000 bail after voluntarily handing himself in on September 13, with his attorney Gabe Banks having since spoken out about the altercation, insisting that Zulu’s actions were clearly in self-defense of a heated situation that could’ve ended his life.
#KyleRittenhouse got off on all charges due to stand your ground law 🤦🏻♂️ And that’s after traveling a lot of miles with an assault rifle 🤨 But Chaka Zulu gets attacked on camera & he’s the one charged with a crime 🤯 When will the system just admit they hate us 😈
— Fr3akBeatz (@WhoUBx2Va) September 21, 2022
“In an attempt to save his life, Mr. Zulu lawfully discharged his weapon in self-defense, a weapon that he was licensed to carry. Mr. Zulu fully cooperated with law enforcement officials and their investigation, and voluntarily turned himself in once he learned of the arrest warrants,” Banks said in a statement.
“Mr. Zulu remains confident that his name will be cleared of these charges through the judicial process. It is not lost on Mr. Zulu that someone lost his life, but had Mr. Zulu not lawfully defended himself, Mr. Zulu would have been killed that night.”