Takeoff at WGCI BIG JAM 2019 (Photo credit: Eddy “Precise” Lamarre for rolling out)
When Takeoff was killed on Nov. 1, 2022, it was devastating, but there was another person who could have lost her life that night as well.
Sydney Leday, 24, was caught in the cross-fire during the shooting, and on Jan. 18 she finally spoke out for first time. In an exclusive interview with KHOU 11 News, Leday talked about the shooting and her recovery.
“Like any other 24-year-old, I was just out partying and celebrating,” Leday said.
Leday said she showed up to a private party around midnight and saw Takeoff and Quavo. Around 2:30 a.m., she says she felt something was wrong when a group was playing a dice game.
“I thought these people that were arguing were just playing from the energy that was in the room [and]around the table,” Leday said. She then said those people started arguing, and that’s when Quavo got upset.
Gun shots began to go off, and Leray says she fell to the ground.
“I felt a sting in the back of my head, and I felt myself falling,” Leday said. “The person I was with picked me up and we got in the car. It was like a scary movie.”
“I got in the car and called my mom,” Leday added. “Luckily, we were only 12 minutes away from Memorial Hermann.”
Leday says she spent a week in the hospital, and she remembers her family being around her when she first woke up. She says she didn’t realize anyone else, including Takeoff, was shot that night until she got home.
“I was going through it,” Leday said. “I was sad that it ended up like that. We were all in the same situation, unfortunately. Somebody else didn’t survive, and I was grateful I did.”
