37-year-old Cuban Reggaeton singer El Taiger died on Thursday, October 10, nearly a week after he was found with a gunshot wound to his forehead.
His real name was Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar. A post on his Instagram Story detailed that the singer was the “victim of a senseless violent crime.” The tragic revelation also noted that El Taiger, who had been pronounced dead on Thursday afternoon, “has now been reunited with his beloved mother in heaven.”
Taiger, who has over a million followers on Instagram, was found in the back of a Mercedes-Benz SUV just after 7 am on October 4 in Miami’s Allapattah neighbourhood, according to the New York Post. At the time of the discovery, the singer was suffering from a gunshot in the head. He was ultimately admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in his “very critical condition,” Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said.
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El Taiger was left suffering in the back of a car after being shot a week ago
Miami Police spokesperson Mike Vega told Telemundo that there was a grave possibility that the shooting incident did not happen on the corner where the car was found. “This happened somewhere else, someone drove it there, left it and left on foot,” he added.
Amid the ongoing murder investigation, officials are seeking 49-year-old Damian Valdez-Gallaso for questioning. They even released a wanted poster for him on Tuesday. Chief Morales admitted that, at the moment, they are “not certain” if any other individuals are related to the shooting. “But for now we need to speak to this gentleman today so if the public can help us out it will definitely help this investigation,” he said on Tuesday.
The bloody SUV was also found to have been filled with two gallons of gasoline.
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On Thursday, in the wake of Taiger’s demise, his fans arranged a makeshift memorial outside the hospital and paid a heartfelt tribute to him by playing his music and honking horns.
Last year in March, El Taiger was nabbed in Miami for drug possession and armed robbery. In July, he was again arrested on armed robbery, assault and cocaine possession charges. At the time of last week’s incident, he was out on bail.
