Nipsey Hussle fans prevented from staging birthday memorial at LA clothing store by huge fence

*EXCLUSIVE* Los Angeles, CA - **USA AND CANADA CLIENTS MUST CALL FOR RIGHTS** Fans hoping to honor Nipsey Hussle on what would have been the rapper's 34th birthday will have to find a place other than his clothing store to pay their respects. A massive fence, complete with shading and barbed wire surrounds Nipsey's Marathon Clothing in Los Angeles ... the same place the rapper was murdered back in March. The location was an obvious spot for a birthday memorial, but the barricade is a clear attempt to discourage people from gathering and leaving items at the store. City officials have had issues with Marathon for a long time and even tried to shut it down, believing it was a hub for gang activity. Fact is ... the area has problems with gangs, but Nipsey was working hard to curb gang violence. The LAPD and L.A. City Attorney took a lot of heat for praising Nipsey after his death on the one hand yet naming him in an investigation over gang activity around the store. Cops later said he was not a target ... only the store was. TMZ broke the story ... the LAPD was put on high alert for a possible birthday celebration Thursday, planning to have more than 100 officers near the Slauson and Crenshaw intersection where the store is located. Nipsey's birthday won't go unrecognized by his family though, we've learned they plan to hold a private gathering. Our sources say Nip's family is still in a serious state of mourning. Nipsey suffered fatal gunshot wounds to his head and torso on March 31. Eric Holder was arrested just days later and charged with murder. **MANDATORY CREDIT: TMZ/BACKGRID** Pictured: Nipsey's Marathon Clothing BACKGRID USA 15 AUGUST 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: TMZ / BACKGRID **USA and Canada Clients Must Call for Rights** USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients - Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* — Any fans who were looking to pay tribute to Nipsey in his native LA were met with this sight yesterday (Picture: TMZ / BACKGRID)

Friends, family and fans of Nipsey Hussle honoured the late rapper’s birthday yesterday (15 August) with a slew of tributes – but a birthday memorial at his LA clothing store was prevented by the recent installation of a barbed wire fence around the property.

Nipsey, 33, was shot and killed outside the Marathon Clothing store on March 31. Eric Holder, 29, was arrested two days later and charged with murder.

Initially, the site of a makeshift memorial following his death, the store is currently fenced off to the public – forcing Nipsey fans in LA to find another place to pay their respects.

According to David Gross, Nipsey’s business partner, the fence (which was installed a few weeks ago) is just preparation for the development of new property on the site.

‘Our plans for the future are to redevelop this to a mix development retail and multifamily complex, and then we’re gonna build quality, affordable housing on top,’ Gross told fans recently on Instagram.

According to TMZ, officers from the LAPD were put on ‘high alert’ this week for any possible Nipsey birthday celebrations, with apparent plans in place to have more than 100 officers near the Slauson and Crenshaw intersection where the Marathon store is located.

The publication also claim that Nipsey’s family planned to commemorate his birthday yesterday with a private gathering, while his partner Lauren London posted a series of Instagram tributes to the rapper – one of which simply read ‘The King!’