St. Louis rapper Rasheme Bridges, professionally known as Benji Bam or “Bam,” has reportedly died following a shooting in the city on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Bridges was 26 years old.
According to preliminary police information, the fatal incident occurred on Goodfellow Boulevard near Natural Bridge Avenue in the Wells-Goodfellow area. Authorities said two vehicles traveling southbound were involved in a traffic collision at approximately 6:30 p.m. Gunfire reportedly followed the crash.
Officers responding to the scene found a 26-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries.
The victim was subsequently identified within the local music community as Rasheme Bridges, known professionally as Benji Bam. His death has prompted reactions from people familiar with the St. Louis hip-hop scene.
Bridges was associated with the Benji Brothers, a rap partnership involving Kelton Rucker, professionally known as Benji Kellz. Federal records from 2019 identify Rasheme Bridges by the names “Bam” and “Benji Bam” and identify Bridges and Rucker as St. Louis rappers known together as the Benji Brothers.
The federal record is also useful in establishing Bridges’ age. He was identified as 19 in 2019, meaning he would have been approximately 26 at the time of his reported death in 2026.
The shooting happened shortly after the vehicle collision, and investigators initially faced questions about how the confrontation developed. Police were working to determine who initiated the confrontation and who fired the shots.
Law-enforcement officers were reportedly nearby when the incident occurred. District 5 officers and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were conducting an unrelated traffic stop in the area when they heard the crash and subsequent gunfire. They responded toward the scene and encountered the damaged vehicles and wounded victim.
At least two people connected to the vehicles were initially detained while detectives investigated. Being detained does not necessarily mean that a person has been arrested or charged, and authorities had not initially established who was responsible for the shooting.
Investigators were expected to examine surveillance footage from businesses and other cameras near the scene. Video evidence, witness interviews and physical evidence from the vehicles and roadway could help detectives reconstruct the events leading up to the shooting.
A later claim circulated that a 23-year-old man had been charged in connection with Bridges’ death. However, that specific charging information had not been independently verified through an authoritative public record at the time of the supplied report, so it should be treated as unconfirmed until officials release corresponding records.
Bridges’ death represents a loss for the St. Louis music community, where he had established himself through his association with the Benji Brothers and his work as Benji Bam.
The investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have not publicly provided a complete account of the events that led from the vehicle crash to the fatal gunfire.
As detectives continue reviewing evidence and determining the circumstances of the shooting, additional information about the case, potential charges and Bridges’ memorial arrangements may become available.
For now, friends, fellow artists and members of the St. Louis community are remembering Rasheme “Benji Bam” Bridges and mourning his reported death at the age of 26.
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