The New York City Radio World is mourning the loss of one of its own. Urban radio and TV personality DJ Megatron, a regular fixture as a segment host on BET’s 106 & Park since 2006, was shot and killed near his Staten Island, New York home early Sunday in what police suspect was a random robbery gone wrong.

Megatron, whose real name was Corey McGriff, was fatally wounded in the stomach while heading to a store around 2 AM. NYPD officials say the 32-year-old rising hip hop star was found dead with a single gunshot wound. Police were called when a neighbor heard the gun fire and called 911. By the time paramedics arrived, Megatron was dead. He was found on the sidewalk, his fitted baseball cap at his side.

Rising to the on-air ranks after starting as an intern, DJ Megatron began his career at New York’s WKRS-FM, better known as Kiss FM, where deejays remembered him on the air and online Sunday. He’d also worked at what was then Boston’s Hot 97.7, or WBOT-FM, and at Philadelphia’s The Beat, or WPHI-FM, according to a bio on his MySpace page. In recent years, he’s appeared on 106, where his “What’s Good” spots took him onto the streets to ask bystanders about topics ranging from sports to “The Five Elements of Hip-Hop.”

McGriff, also beloved around the Osgood Avenue community where he grew up, had also appeared in a number of movies, including 2005′s State Property 2, starring rappers Beanie Sigel and Noreaga.

“Detectives are telling us they think it was a random act and whoever shot him had no idea who he was. They seem to think it was robbery. He probably had one of the best personalities around . super-positive, happy all the time,” says Justin Kirkland, who was Megatron’s manager.

His family say he had no enemies and they’re struggled to understand why anyone may have attacked the well-liked jock known for his upbeat, amiable attitude.

“He was a great kid. He loved playing sports and was quarterback at college. He was also a really good athlete,” according to the DJ’s griefstricken father. “I remember when he was in 10th grade he called me and said, ‘Dad, I came 36th in the country in the 200 metres.’ I joked: ‘Can’t you do better than that?!’ Then I congratulated him. I was so proud. He loved watching Fresh Prince of Bel Air as a boy, that’s where he got his first taste of music.”

McGriff, 32, leaves behind three children aged 11, four, and nine-months.

BET Networks is putting the finishing touches on a star-studded TV special planned in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the network’s popular music video countdown series 106 & Park.

The longrunning show will mark the milestone with a live two-hour special — featuring previous hosts AJ & Free, Tigger & Julissa, and present hosts Terrence Jenkins and Rocsi Diaz — scheduled for Oct. 6.

On Oct. 5, the network is expected to air a special titled 106 & Park: 10 Years & Counting, a reunion featuring hosts past and present sharing their insight and experiences. The big two-hour celebration will air the following day, complete with celebrity performances.

“Who would have thought that this little show that began September 11, 2000, with nervous producers and even more nervous first time hosts would turn into this highly successful, influential, game-changing daily energetic program about, from and to youth culture?” says BET’s President of Music Programming and Specials, Stephen G. Hill. “We are proud to reflect and represent every day for our incredible audience that still, after over 2,500 episodes, still fuels the show for this show was built and still rests on the BET audience.”

The series along with therapist Dr. Jeff Gardere, will gather a panel of experts –including city officials, role models, victims, and survivors — to carefully examine the impact teen violence has among youth.
Last month, The White House dispatched two Cabinet officials in response to the beating of 16-year-old Derrion Albert in a street brawl that resulted in death in Chicago.

Last year a 13-year-old boy was fatally shot in the chest in Harlem, New York. Homicide is the leading cause of death for African Americans and the second leading cause of death for Hispanics among 10 to 24 year olds, BET notes.

Nas and Jadakiss appeared on on BET’s 106 & Park Tuesday to promote Jada’s new CD The Last Kiss.

The-Dream and a bleach-blonde Christina Milian stopped by BET’s 106 & Park on Tuesday.

In case you missed it, check out these video clips of Beyonce’s performance on BET’s 106 & Park on Tuesday.

“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”