Rapper Lil Durk has opened up publicly for the first time following an incident involving his 10-year-old son, who allegedly shot his stepfather during a domestic dispute. Early Monday morning, Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks and father to 10 children, posted a cryptic comment on social media platform X.
“Save that money for them kids kids kids kids kids,” he tweeted, in a possible reference to the drama his child appeared to be at the center of. Joshua Pippens has shared surveillance footage purportedly capturing the moment he was shot by his stepson, who is believed to have been defending his mother.
He has been providing updates on social media, including a significant claim that two other children and the child who allegedly shot him have been removed from their mother’s care. A document from the Indiana Department of Child Services, shared by Pippens, indicates the agency recommended that Travonna Collier, the boy’s mother, should no longer be allowed to care for him.
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Pippens and the boy’s biological father, rapper Lil Durk, have been recommended for unsupervised visits.
Despite being hospitalized and needing surgery, Pippens has expressed that he still loves the boy as his own.
“I still love him like he’s mines,” he wrote in a post explaining how the incident occurred. “My gun was on my hip and I was trying to protect myself from getting shot,” he recounted.
“As y’all can see I was not the aggressor,” Pippens said. “And y’all also can see how I still had my gun on my hip. He grabbed my gun off my hip following his mom’s lead and tried to shoot me and then actually shot me.
“I never in a million years thought a kid I bought 4 wheelers and paid for football leagues and everything would do this but he only knows what mom shows him I still love him like he’s mines,” Pippens wrote in an Instagram story.
Pippens suggested that the argument with the boy’s mother, which led to the shooting incident, may have been about custody arrangements for a child they share.
“Whatever makes y’all feel better. That’s why I got custody of my kids and she don’t. Y’all so internet think [sic] god it was me that took the shot and not her,” he wrote.
“Listen, nobody is going to jail or they would already be there. I’m doing this for rights over my kids. Call me what y’all want. And on top of that, this was at my momma’s, in front of my momma, granny, and more kids. I pray y’all make it through y’all situation that God gon’ put y’all through for playing with me,” Pippens added.
A document from the Indiana Department of Child Services reveals further details of the July 1 altercation, which began when the boy returned to Pippens’ mother’s home just before 9 p.m. Upon arrival, the child saw Collier and Pippens arguing outside. The boy urged his mother to stop fighting, then exited the car and pushed Pippens.
The boy confirmed to police that both Collier and Pippens had guns during the altercation, but Collier’s gun did not discharge. According to the child, Pippens was trying to take the gun away from Collier when his own gun fell to the ground. The boy admitted he picked up the gun and shot Pippens to protect his mother, fearing she would be shot.
When questioned by police about past domestic violence, the boy stated that Collier and Pippens frequently yelled at each other and that his mother would “get really mad, really fast.”
