Wayne Shaw, 61, the older brother of rap legend Too $hort (or Too Short), has been shot and killed during a reported botched robbery in East Oakland. The “Blow The Whistle” rapper has since taken to social media to emotionally react to the tragic loss.
On Wednesday morning (January 29), officials with the Oakland Police Department were called to investigate a shooting on 49th Avenue near East 12th Street. According to San Francisco’s KTVU, police responded to the scene where the brother of legendary Oakland rapper Too $hort was shot and killed during a botched robbery attempt. KTVU reports that 61-year-old Wayne Shaw died while protecting a marijuana grow operation.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation and the victim claimed he was the older brother of Too $hort, born Todd Shaw, and that he was fatally shot around 7 a.m. in the 1200 block of 49th Avenue near East 12th Street. The Oakland Police Department said they received multiple calls about the shooting, in addition to alerts from the ShotSpotter system, a gunshot detection network.
Upon police arrival at the marijuana grow house, officers located Too $hort’s older brother, and found him suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital, Highland Hospital, and was pronounced dead a few hours later.
According to Mercury News, the killing marks the 12th homicide investigated by the Oakland Police Department since the beginning of 2025. It’s also reported that no arrests have been announced, however, police are on the hunt for multiple suspects.
Oakland Police Department Deputy Chief Frederick Shavies reported that the shooting occurred after a vehicle rammed into the marijuana grow house to get inside. Witnesses said after the crash, someone walked outside and was shot multiple times by the suspects.
It’s also reported that shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a man left the building where the shooting occurred and met another person who pulled up to the shop. Mercury News reports that both people declined to comment, but one of them said, “That was one of the worst days we’ve had.”
On Thursday (January 30), Too $hort took to his social media with two separate video posts, in which he emotionally and tearfully reacted to his older brother being shot and killed in East Oakland. On the first post, the rapper captioned the tearful video, “Real tears.” In the second post, he captioned the video, Ain’t really replying to a lot of texts or answering calls right now. I can’t.”
In both videos, Too $hort filmed himself as the Oakland rapper drove with the music blasting. With sunglasses on, he bobs his head up and down to the music and lifts his glasses up and down as he wipes the many tears rolling down his face. He’s also seen pounding his armrest at one point and saying words inaudibly. At the end of his second video, he audibly tells viewers, “Nothing but love, man. That’s my motherf***ing brother, man.”
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