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A retired New Orleans police officer that Little Wayne credits with saving his life as a child is dead.
The body of Robert Hoobler, affectionately referred to as "Uncle Bob" by the rapper, was found on Friday at his home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
No official cause of death was given, but his grandson Daniel Nelson told NOLA.com that the 65-year-old had suffered from lingering health issues following a car wreck in recent years and lost both his legs to diabetes.
Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., took to social media to eulogize Hoobler, whom he has acknowledged in multiple interviews over the years as being his savior during one of the darkest periods in his life — an epoch that ended with a self-described suicide attempt at age 12 via a gunshot wound to the chest with a 9 mm pistol.
"Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met u at this very spot," the 39-year-old musician captioned a picture on Instagram of Hoobler at the apartment where the incident went down in 1994. "U refused to let me die. Everything that doesn’t happen, doesn’t happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. I’ll love & miss u both and live for us all."
No official cause of death was given, but his grandson Daniel Nelson told NOLA.com that the 65-year-old had suffered from lingering health issues following a car wreck in recent years and lost both his legs to diabetes.
Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., took to social media to eulogize Hoobler, whom he has acknowledged in multiple interviews over the years as being his savior during one of the darkest periods in his life — an epoch that ended with a self-described suicide attempt at age 12 via a gunshot wound to the chest with a 9 mm pistol.
"Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met u at this very spot," the 39-year-old musician captioned a picture on Instagram of Hoobler at the apartment where the incident went down in 1994. "U refused to let me die. Everything that doesn’t happen, doesn’t happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. I’ll love & miss u both and live for us all."
Hoobler retired from the force in 2009 and worked for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office before being fired after an incident in which he used his stun gun at least three times during an arrest in 2012. He was charged with malfeasance as well. Hoobler took a plea deal and later received a pardon due to his status as a first offender after serving probation.
Most recently he worked for a towing company.
Wayne, who has sold more than 120 million records since dropping his debut album in 1999 and won five Grammys, reconnected with Hoobler in 2019 after wrongly thinking he was dead for several years. Hoobler revealed to TMZ that when they met Wayne offered to provide financial support if he ever needed it, telling him "all he has to do is say the word."
On a 2021 episode of the Uncomfortable Conversations podcast with Emmanuel Acho, Wayne discussed the impact the suicide attempt had on his life and Hoobler had on him.
While other law enforcement officials searched his home for illegal drugs and weapons after finding his body instead of administering medical attention, Hoobler swung into action.
I was spitting all in his face, blood and everything and all I was trying to tell was I'm not a baby," Wayne, said noting that Hoobler ran directly up the stairs to attend to him. "He kept saying [to the other officers], 'Do you not see the f—ing baby on the ground with a hole in his chest?'"He added, "He was screaming at them... and he must've been the boss because they all came in the room and was like, 'Oh sorry boss, we called the ambulance' and he was like, 'I don't give a f—k.'
Watch the full episode below.
