Houdini dead: Canadian rapper dies at 21 after being gunned down in Toronto shooting

Canadian rapper Houdini has died aged 21 after a shooting in Toronto.

The Up and coming hip-hop star was gunned down on Tuesday outside a hotel in the downtown area of the city and died from his injuries.

A woman, 27, and a 15-year-old boy were also injured in the attack but are expected to recover.

News of Houdini's death was confirmed by fellow Toronto rapper Tony Yanez, who wrote on Instagram : "I’m trying, and I can’t fight the tears from falling...

"I can’t even find the words for a speech right now .. YALL TOOK MY F***ING N**** AND ALL HE WANTED TO DO WAS LIVE !!!!!! #RIP Houdini 4 Ever!"

He was also mourned by rapper Meek Mil, who wrote: "Rocked WIT YOUNGBULL VIBE AS A PERSON RIP! PRAYERS TO HIS SIDE!"

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders called the shooting "very brazen" and revealed cops responded to reports of gunfire at around 4pm yesterday.

He claimed the attack was planned and suspects had been waiting in their car for around 40 minutes before opening fire.

Saunders explained: "It turns out the suspect vehicle, based on the evidence we have right now, was waiting for about forty minutes for the occupants of another vehicle to arrive to their vehicle.

"When they did, the suspect vehicle made a U-turn, came out, and started firing at this group of individuals."

He went on: "This was very brazen, this offence that took place,” he said. “However, it’s very solvable...

"There was a driver of the suspect vehicle and we know that the shooter got out on the passenger side."

He believes the gunman exited the vehicle and let off the shots before climbing back into the car and driving off.

A witness told CP24 : "What we heard was like a bunch of fireworks. There were lots of echoes – about six to 10 shots. It was quite startling and then you hear all the sirens afterwards.

"I think a lot of people have power outages in this area too, so people were out for a walk I guess. It’s quite shocking to see in this area."

A firearm was recovered from the scene and police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Houdini was one of Canada's most streamed independent rappers with 19.2 million plays on Spotify in 2019.

He is best known for tracks including Late Nights, Myself and Backseats.

The rapper started his career in 2016 and signed to Robin Banks' UpTop Movement Inc for upcoming artists a year later.

Late Nights was released in 2018 and the video garnered more than a million views on YouTube,

His debut mixtape, Hou I Am, dropped in 2019 and it was followed by a second, Hou Woulda Thought, later in the year.

His EP underGROUND was released in March.