Cop Who Saved Lil Wayne's Life as a Child Has Passed Away At Age 65

Former police officer “Robert Hoobler” who saved Lil Wayne’s life in 1994 when he shot himself in the chest has passed away.

The New Orleans Ex-Cop Robert Hoobler dies on Friday

Robert Hoobler, a retired New Orleans police officer who helped save rapper Lil Wayne’s life when the musician shot himself at age 12, died Friday. He was 65.

Hoobler was reportedly found dead at his home in Jefferson Parish on Friday, parish coroner Gerry Cvitanovich told WVUE-TV. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

For several years, Hoobler suffered from lingering health issues after a car wreck led doctors to amputate both of his legs, NOLA.com reported.

Lil Wayne is forever grateful to “Uncle Bob”—Weezy has told the story of shooting himself at the age of twelve many times. In most of the retellings, the rapper is sure to credit the officers who showed up at the scene for saving his life 27 years ago. Now, one of those officers, Robert Hoobler, has passed away.

Wayne shared the story of his suicide attempt in detail, explaining he shot himself in the chest and slid over to the door to get police help. Multiple officers walked over him when they entered his home, looking for drugs and weapons, but one stopped to come to his rescue.

“It took a guy named ‘Uncle Bob.’ When he got there and he got to the top of the steps and saw me there, he refused to step over me,” Wayne recalls. “One of them yelled, ‘I got the drugs’ and that’s when he went crazy. He was like, ‘I don’t give a fuck about no drugs, do you not see the baby on the ground?’”

Bob eventually helped transport Wayne to the hospital and the rest is history. Since the incident, rumors of the officer’s death began circulating and Wayne even rapped about it in “London Roads,” prompting Wayne to offer to pay for his funeral service. But of course, there was no need.