Nicki Minaj's 27-year-old cousin, Nicholas Telemaque, was shot and killed early Monday and relatives are saying it was a case of mistaken identity. The East Flatbush, Brooklyn resident was on his way to his car around 2:40 a.m. after he left the C-PAC nightclub with friends.

"He was shot in the chest as he walked towards his car close to his home. Nicki is absolutely devastated as are all our family - she was very close to her cousin but now he has gone," his cousin Carol Clarke tells RadarOnline.

"She has reached-out to Nicholas' mom Victoria to offer her words of comfort but she is too distraught. Nicholas was a quiet person but he could be the life and soul of the party too - he did not run with gangs or anything like that.

"His friends have told us there wasn’t any trouble that night and we believe it could have been a case of mistaken identity but the police are still investigating the case.

"We are still trying to make arrangements for his funeral but I will really miss him because he was a good person."

Upon learning about the tragedy, Minaj took to Twitter to express her sadness and share photos of her cousin.

(Photo:Mark Davis/PictureGroup)