he spent time with several of his disciples at their school. He left the school between 2:00 and 3:00 am on June 13 and then gambled for an hour or two. As was his occasional practice, he traveled to Dora Smith's house to rest. He was ambushed by three assailants who fatally shot him while he was in the lobby of her apartment building. That morning, several people from the mayor's office met with his family, and the mayor later visited the Five Percenters' school to express condolences. Clarence 13X's funeral was held four days after his death. It was attended by about 400 people and was followed by a procession through Harlem. His death put the leadership of his movement in question—there was no clear successor. At that time, his followers were primarily teenagers, and several of his top leaders subsequently struggled with drug addiction. Most local media sources gave Clarence 13X positive coverage in the wake of his death. The Daily News connected his murder with the recent death of NOI activist Charles Kenyatta, casting them as part of a "Muslim War". The mayor believed that the NYPD told them this and was angered by their claim. Louis Farrakhan denied culpability, maintaining that he had good relations with Clarence 13X. NYPD investigators suspected that he was killed by members of an extortion ring, possibly connected to the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. In August 1969, an arrest was made in connection with his murder. The suspect denied involvement, and charges were soon dropped. Five Percenters have posited different culprits, including the CIA, the NOI, or a disgruntled follower. Legacy and reception Five Percenter membership plunged after Clarence 13X's death, but rebounded in 1970 after new leadership emerged and revitalized the group. After his death, the group was not dominated by a single leader. This may have been a result of their teaching that all black men are gods, which rendered authoritarian leadership untenable. Knight doubts that Clarence 13X set out to build a movement or a culture, but after his death, the movement expanded and gained converts across the United States. Five Percenters have celebrated Clarence 13X's birthday as a holiday, and minimized the descriptions of his flaws in their accounts of his life. Numerous apocryphal stories from his life have circulated among the group; some accounts have claimed that he gambled only as a means to reach