Music producer Metro Boomin pays family home of Buffalo security guard who confronted shooter

Last May, Aaron Salter Jr., a retired police officer, was killed in a supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, while trying to save others.

Nearly two months after the tragedy, his wife Kimberly and son Aaron Salter III say they received a life-changing gift. Kimberly Salter is mortgage-free, the son says, thanks to hip-hop and rap music producer Metro Boomin who paid off the mortgage on the house she shared with her late husband.

Salter III said his family received the gift in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

After his father’s death, Salter III said he started a GoFundMe campaign to help his mother manage her finances, wanting to make sure she was “taken care of and okay.” He said Metro Boomin contacted him after finding out about the campaign, which raised nearly $65,000.

“He has an album, ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes’, and he said my story really resonated with him because he called my dad a hero and he said he did everything he did. could to protect these people,” Salter III told ABC. New. “He saw the story and he just wanted to help us in any way he could,” he added.

Salter III, who says he’s been a longtime fan of the producer, said his mother Kimberly was stunned when he told her about Metro Boomin’s gift.

“She was like, ‘what does he do?'” Salter III said. “She didn’t believe it until she logged into her account and saw it was paid. And when she saw it was paid, she was very emotional. She was very happy.”

Metro Boomin, born Leland Tyler Wayne, is a popular American hip-hop music producer, DJ, and songwriter from St. Louis. He has amassed more than a dozen top 20 hits, working with hip-hop and rap stars such as Kanye West, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Migos, Future and Gucci Mane.

An Instagram account that appears to belong to the producer responded to Salter III’s post, commenting, “I still love you bro, my line is still open, and meant everything I said when we spoke. “

A representative for Metro Boomin did not respond to an ABC News request for comment.

Salter III’s father, Aaron Salter Jr., was among those killed last May after a white teenager allegedly killed 10 black people in what authorities described as a racially motivated mass shooting.

At the time, Salter Jr. worked as a security guard for the grocery store, located in a predominantly black neighborhood. When the shooter entered the store on May 14, Salter confronted him, shooting and punching the teenager before he himself was fatally injured.

While it’s unclear how many victims were saved due to Salter’s actions, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia told ABC News, “We’re sure he saved lives.”

“He fell in battle,” added Gramaglia. “He went in, he went towards the shots. He went towards the fight.”

Shortly after filming, Canisius College posthumously honored Salter Jr., who was only three credit hours (one course) away from graduation, with a Bachelor of Arts. Salter III accepted the degree on behalf of his father at the school’s graduation ceremony.

Two months ago, Metro Boomin suffered his own loss, when his mother, Leslie Joanne Wayne, was allegedly murdered by her husband (not Metro Boomin’s biological father), who then took his own life, TMZ reported in June. .