Lil Wayne Pays Tribute to New Orleans Cop Who Saved His Life as a Child: 'Refused to Let Me Die'

Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne is mourning the death of a New Orleans police officer who saved his life when he was just 12 years old.

The "Lollipop" rapper, 39, shared a photo to Instagram on Monday paying tribute to Robert "Uncle Bob" Hoobler, who he has previously said saved his life after a childhood suicide attempt.

"Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met u at this very spot. U refused to let me die," he captioned the post. "Everything that doesn't happen, doesn't happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. I'll love & miss u both and live for us all."

Hoobler, 65, was found dead on Friday at his home in Old Jefferson, Louisiana, according to Nola.com. The officer's grandson Daniel Nelson told the outlet that he'd recently had to have both of his legs amputated due to complications from diabetes.

Lil Wayne, who grew up in New Orleans, has previously praised Hoobler for coming to his rescue after the 1994 shooting at his mother's apartment.

Though off duty at the time, Hoobler drove to the scene alongside five other officers after a dispatch call was made about a disturbance, according to Nola.com.

With no ambulance available, Hoobler reportedly carried the future star to his the back of his cop car and took him the emergency room, telling him, "Stay awake, son. You're going to be fine. You'll see."

RELATED: Lil Wayne Shuts Down Denise Bidot Wedding Rumors: 'I'm Not Married'

Lil Wayne has recounted the story in many interviews since, telling the Daily Mail in 2018 that Hoobler was the only responding officer to offer him help.

"He didn't drop me off at the ambulance and say, 'You take him.' He brought me to the hospital room and... stood there and waited until the doctor said, 'He's gonna make it,'" the rapper said. "He said, 'Don't worry, my name's Uncle Bob.' He was white as snow... I don't know what racism is. I know a good motherf—r named Uncle Bob, though."

The five-time Grammy Award winner also spoke about the incident in an autobiographical song on 2018 album Tha Carter V titled "Let It All Work Out," which includes the lyrics: "I aimed where my heart was pounding. I shot it and I woke up with blood all around me. It's mine. I didn't die, but as I was dying God came to my side and we talked about it. He sold me another life and made me a profit."

Thaddaeus McAdams/Getty Lil Wayne

Last August, during an interview with Emmanuel Acho on his Uncomfortable Conversations podcast, the "Uproar" rapper spoke again about the incident, and said he was suffering from a mental health crisis at the time.

After an aunt told him he wouldn't be able to continue his rap career after he was caught ditching school, the star said he experienced suicidal ideation before grabbing a gun from his mother's bedroom and attempting to end his life.

"I was just looking and was like, 'You know what?' I start thinking I had to get myself mad and then noticed I didn't have to," he said. "That's what scared me. And how I know I have mental health problems was [that] I pulled the trigger."

The rapper added that he was never able to detail the mental health problems he was facing to his mother — "You don't speak in that language. You don't speak up. You don't tell your opinion," he said — and his father was never in the picture.

Wayne added that the suicide attempt changed his mother and his family forever. He explained that when he became a star by his late teens and early 20s, the mental health issues "didn't go away" but "came in a different way because of the maturity."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.