Robert Hoobler, the New Orleans police officer who helped save Lil Wayne’s life when the future rapper shot himself at age 12, has died at age 65, his friends said Saturday.

Hoobler was found dead Friday in his Old Jefferson home, they said. For several years, he suffered from lingering health issues after a car wreck led doctors to amputate both legs, according to posts on his social media.

David Lapene, a friend and former coworker at the Police Department, said Lil Wayne's account of Hoobler and officer Kevin Balancier saving his life 27 years ago is "one of the best stories that depicts Hoobler as a person."


The police officer who saved Lil Wayne
Robert Hoobler, a former New Orleans police officer, stands April 7, 2009, in front of the Hollygrove apartment where the future rapper Lil Wayne shot himself in the chest at age 12 on Nov. 11, 1994. Hoobler, who helped save the youth's life, died Friday, July 22, 2022.


The rapper, born Dwayne Carter Jr., was handling a 9 mm pistol in his mother's Hollygrove apartment on Nov. 11, 1994, when he shot himself in the chest. Whether it was an accident depends on when the rapper tells the story.

Hoobler heard the police radio report and, although off duty, drove to the scene, as did five other officers. No ambulance was available, so the ranking officer ordered Hobbler to rush the boy to a hospital.

Balancier backed a police car into the apartment driveway and opened the cruiser's door. Hoobler carried Dwayne to the back seat and lay the badly wounded youth across his lap.

Speeding to hospital
One officer blocked traffic at major intersections, and as Dwayne groaned and bled all over Hoobler, Balancier sped to Ochsner Medical Center, the closest emergency room.

Hoobler spoke to Dwayne during the trip and shook him to keep him alert: "Stay awake, son. You're going to be fine. You'll see."

When they arrived, Balancier opened the door and let Hoobler out. Hoobler put Dwayne on a gurney, and nurses and doctors wheeled him away.



'Always people forward'
Hoobler went to the restroom at the hospital to wash off what he could. Most of his shirt was tinted dark red.

Lil Wayne has recounted the story in interviews. In one, the Black rapper said he never knew racism because of Hoobler, a White man whom he called “Uncle Bob.”

“He was always people orward,” Lapene said. “He took care of the public just as much as he took care of the cops.”

After retiring from the Police Department, Hoobler started working at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2009. He was fired and charged with malfeasance in office in 2012, for shooting a man he was arresting with a stun gun. He took a plea deal and served probation, and later received a pardon due to being a first offender.


More recently, he had been working at Rock & Roll Towing in Kenner.



link; https://www.nola.com/news/crim...73-9bfd06697743.html

Lil Wayne's net worth is estimated at $175m.

I wonder if he's ever been there for Officer Hoobler.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Lil Wayne's net worth is estimated at $175m.

I wonder if he's ever been there for Officer Hoobler.

Why do you wonder?

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Lil Wayne's net worth is estimated at $175m.

I wonder if he's ever been there for Officer Hoobler.

yes, has previously offered to assist in medical bills and funeral

quote:

Originally posted by snwghst:

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Lil Wayne's net worth is estimated at $175m.

I wonder if he's ever been there for Officer Hoobler.

yes, has previously offered to assist in medical bills and funeral

He doesn’t know anything about the man. He’s just stereotyping a rapper.

https://www.tmz.com/2021/08/17...-who-saved-his-life/

quote:

Lil Wayne's never forgotten "Uncle Bob" -- the former New Orleans police officer who saved his life when he attempted suicide at age 12 -- and he's told him he's got his back for life if he ever needs anything.

"Uncle Bob," whose real name is Robert Hoobler, tells TMZ ... he saw Lil Wayne in 2019 when the rapper was in NOLA for a radio show, and that's when Wayne offered to provide Bob with financial support if he ever needed it, telling Bob all he has to do is say the word.

Bob says he hasn't taken up Weezy on the generous offer, but there have been talks about him joining Weezy's team in some sort of administrative capacity ... it's still TBD.

If you don't know ... Lil Wayne recently opened up about his mental health struggles as a kid and the incident with "Uncle Bob" when he was 12.

Lil Wayne now admits he intentionally shot himself in the chest -- for years, it was believed to be an accidental shooting -- and Bob was the cop who came to his rescue, refusing to let him die.

Now, all these years later, Wayne's still trying to pay back Bob. It's not the first time he's tried either -- you may recall his 2015 track "London Roads" in which he rapped about Bob saving him, and suggested the ex-cop had died.

But, Bob was still alive ... and says he got in touch with Wayne to let him know all reports or rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated.

Uncle Bob says Wayne was actually ready to pay for his funeral. Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.