LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Free tickets for a public memorial at Staples Center for slain rapper Nipsey Hussle were quickly distributed today through an online system, with all tickets gone within minutes.
Tickets for the Thursday morning event were made available to California residents only starting at 10 a.m. on axs.com, with a four-ticket limit per household. The tickets, however, disappeared quickly, and organizers announced less than an hour later that no more tickets were available.
Doors to Staples Center will open at 8 a.m. Thursday in advance of the 10 a.m. ceremony. Attendees were being encouraged to arrive early due to the anticipated crowds. Guests will be subject to metal-detector screening and other searches, and no backpacks of any size will be permitted. No bags larger than 14-by-14-by-6 inches will be allowed.
No cameras or recording devices will be permitted inside the arena. Anyone seen taking photos or recording the event may be asked to leave.
No outside food or beverages will be permitted.
Details are available online at www.staplescenter.com/events/detail/nipseyhussle.
The ceremony is expected to be followed by a lengthy procession, allowing those who were unable to obtain tickets to pay their respects. Details had not been officially released as of midday Tuesday, but TMZ.com reported that the procession will travel roughly 25 miles, going from Staples Center through South Los Angeles -- including a pass of Hussle's The Marathon Clothing store where he was killed -- and near Ladera Heights before ending at a Crenshaw area funeral home.
On Friday, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to adjourn its regular meeting in honor of Hussle, according to Councilman Marqueece Harris- Dawson, a friend of Hussle's. At that same meeting, Harris-Dawson is also expected to introduce a motion to rename the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard as “Ermias `Nipsey Hussle' Asghedom Square.”
The 33-year-old rapper -- whose real name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom -- was fatally shot March 31 in front of The Marathon Clothing store he owned in the 3400 block of West Slauson Avenue in the Hyde Park area of Los Angeles.
On Thursday, 29-year-old Eric Ronald Holder Jr. pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, along with two counts of attempted murder. The charges include an allegation that Holder personally and intentionally discharged a handgun which caused great bodily injury and death to the rapper.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa Sullivan ordered Holder to be jailed in lieu of $5 million bail while awaiting his next court appearance May 10, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.
Holder, an aspiring rapper, could face a potential life prison sentence if convicted as charged, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Holder got into some type of personal dispute with the rapper outside the store, then left and returned with a handgun. Hussle was shot in the head and body and died at a hospital, according to police and the coroner's office.
The police chief declined to discuss the nature of the disagreement between Holder and Hussle but stressed the shooting appeared to be a result of that dispute, not any type of gang rivalry or feud.
“We believe this to be a dispute between Mr. Hussle and Mr. Holder,” Moore said. “I'm not going to go into the conversations, but it appears to be a personal matter between the two of them.”
Hussle transformed himself from a South Los Angeles gang member to a rap musician and channeled his success into efforts to help others stay out of gangs. He bought shoes for students, re-paved basketball courts and provided jobs and shelter for the homeless.
Hussle helped renovate a Mid-City roller rink and redeveloped the strip mall that housed his Marathon Clothing shop where he was fatally wounded.
Photos: Getty Images