Nicki Minaj stunned fans with a series of tweets announcing that that her cousin, Nicholas Telemague, was murdered in his hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. on Monday (July 4).

"Lived in Brooklyn his whole life. My precious cousin. My baby. Killed last nite," Nicki tweeted. "My cousin Nicholas. Also goes by Juse, or @brolicalcoholic Murdered. http://lockerz.com/s/117042525." The photo showcased a young man standing in front of a mirror at a gym.

According to MTV.com, police responded to a call in East Flatbush, Brooklyn at 2:40AM, where they discovered "Telemaque, 27, with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso region." He was pronounced dead on arrival at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y.

An investigation is underway but no arrests have been made.

Minaj spent July 4th in Winnipeg, Canada, a stop on Britney Spears' summer Femme Fatale tour, where she heard the news. She has not released any further information but fans including celebrity blogger Perez Hilton have taken to twitter to offer their condolences.

More From TheBoombox