Eminem Speaks out on Proof, Police Say Proof Fired First

(andPOP) - Police have said that Proof, the slain D12 rapper, was the first one to fire a shot Tuesday morning at a Detroit club.

Proof was shot and killed after an early morning incident at the CCC Club on Eight Mile.

However, Proof's lawyer denied these claims.

"To indicate that Proof pulled the trigger first is reckless and quite frankly it will be proved to be untrue," lawyer David Gorosh told the Detroit Free Press.

According to police, Proof (real name DeShaun Holton) shot the club's bouncer, Keith Bender Jr., in the face. Another man, believed to be Bender's cousin, who has come forward, then shot Proof four times.

Eminem, Proof's best friend and longtime rap partner, spoke out Thursday for the first time. In a statement, he said:

"You don't know where to begin when you lose somebody who's been such a big part of your life for so long. Proof and I were brothers. He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady. Not a day will go by without his spirit and influence around us all. He will be missed as a friend, father and both the heart and ambassador of Detroit hip-hop.

"Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."