NEW YORK (AP) - Jam Master Jay, part of the pioneering rap trio
Run DMC, was shot and killed Wednesday, the group’s publicist said.

  Publicist Tracy Miller confirmed the death of the 37-year-old
rapper, whose real name was Jason Mizell.

  The shooting happened on Merrick Boulevard in the Jamaica
section of Queens, a law enforcement source told The Associated
Press on condition of anonymity. Run DMC fans were gathering at the
scene, some hugging each other and crying.

  The law enforcement source said the rapper was shot in the head
about 7:30 p.m. and a second person was shot in the ankle and
rushed to a nearby hospital. The source said the shooter was at
large.

  Run DMC is widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into
music’s mainstream, including the group’s smash collaboration with
Aerosmith on the 1980s standard "Walk This Way."

  The trio released a greatest-hits album earlier this year. In
2001, the rappers produced Crown Royal, breaking an eight-year
silence.