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Eminem: Proof was my brother
[UPDATE} Slim Shady posts on his Web site that D12 rapper and his longtime sideman "pushed me to become who I am;" shooter faces weapons charges.
On a day when D12 rapper Proof received an online tribute from the rapper that he helped propel to superstardom, the man who allegedly shot and killed him early Tuesday was charged with weapons violations and remained in police custody.
Police charged Mario Etheridge, 28, of Detroit, with carrying a concealed weapon and discharge of a firearm in a building, according to the Wayne County prosecutor's office.
"Our investigation in this case is far from over," Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.
Assistant prosecutor Maria Miller said that without the weapons charges, authorities would have had to release Etheridge from custody. She declined to say if more charges would be added.
"Our investigation into the death of Proof continues. There can't be any conclusions about anything until that investigation is completed," she said.
Earlier in the day, Proof received an online tribute from multiplatinum rapper Eminem, who credited his longtime friend for pushing him "to become who I am."
Eminem posted on his Web site today that while a lot of people are focusing on how Proof died--shot several times during an argument that escalated into a gunfight in which he reportedly fired the first bullet--he wants people to focus on the way he lived.
"Proof and I were brothers," Eminem posted, calling Proof--real name DeShaun Holton, 32--"funny," "smart," and "charming." "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady."
"Not a day will go by without his spirit and influence around us all," he continued. "He will be missed as a friend, father, and both the heart and ambassador of Detroit hip-hop."
Proof's family believes a police investigation will clear his name, Proof's lawyer, David J. Gorosh, told The Detroit News.
"Our position is the facts of this case will speak for themselves," he said.
But Etheridge claims he acted only in defense of the man Proof had allegedly pistol-whipped and shot in the head at the CCC nightclub early Tuesday morning.
Eminem wrote today that Proof will be sorely missed.
"He inspired everyone around him," he wrote. "He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."
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