Los Angeles police say at least four people are connected to Wednesday’s shooting death of rap newcomer Pop Smoke at a Hollywood Hills home, law enforcement sources told The Times.
And while the 20-year-old Brooklyn rapper, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, posted recent images on social media revealing the address of his rented home and stacks of cash, investigators have “good reason” to believe the shooting may have been targeted, sources said.
Detectives have reviewed security camera video, which the sources said also may have captured images of the getaway car. In addition to home cameras, there are nearby locations that have license plate reader technology that also could aid in the investigation, the sources added.
Unidentified sources told TMZ.com that surveillance video from the murder scene shows four men approach Jackson’s rented house about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and sneak around back.
A few minutes passed before at least three of the men walked back to the front of the home, the website reported.
The fourth man apparently walked in the back door and was later seen exiting the front door, TMZ said.
Where investigation stands
While initial reports described the incident that led to the rapper’s shooting as a home invasion robbery, Los Angeles Police Department officials said they are still trying to sort out what happened.
“I am not comfortable calling it a robbery right now,” Robbery Homicide Division Capt. Jonathan Tippet said. “There is a lot of information available. We have some work to do. It's a possibility that this was not intended to be a robbery.”
Tippet said detectives are looking for evidence in the neighborhood as well as scanning the internet for clues.
Law enforcement sources who were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly said they are aware the rapper may have inadvertently posted an image to social media showing the address of the home where he was staying, giving away his location to those who may have saw an opportunity to ambush the rapper.
Commentary circulating on social media Wednesday also revealed that Smoke had publicly shared his address in an Instagram video only hours before the shooting.
The Twitter account for The Academy Music Business, an advocacy group for independent artists, warned other rappers against publicizing their whereabouts on social media.
Gang ties among theories
Because Pop Smoke was considered by law enforcement to be affiliated with the Crips street gang, detectives are investigating whether the slaying may have been gang-related, officials said.
“We’re not calling this some type of gang feud at this time. There’s no immediate indication the suspects are involved with a gang. It is unknown,” Tippet told the New York Daily News.
Officers were sent to the home about 5 a.m. after someone calling from the East Coast reported that several people, at least one of whom wore a black mask and was armed with a handgun, had entered their friend’s home in Los Angeles, LAPD Capt. Steve Lurie said.
When officers arrived at the $2.5 million mansion in the 2000 block of Hercules Drive, they found the 20-year-old rapper with gunshot wounds.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officers detained several people inside the house, but they were later released. At least four suspects fled the scene, authorities said.
Pop Smoke, according to sources, had partied at the Hercules Drive home with others in the evening before the shooting. It is unclear whether there is any connection between that gathering and the shooting.
Pop Smoke’s background
Smoke’s short-lived music career began less than a year ago with the debut of his July 2019 solo effort called “Meet the Woo.”
He worked with industry superstars Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott. His breakout single from the Woo album “Welcome to the Party” was remixed by ASAP Ferg, Meek Mill and Pusha T.
Smoke’s follow-up effort, “Meet the Woo 2,” debuted only earlier this month and features tracks with Quavo from Migos and the rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie. The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, The Associated Press reported.
Before his death, Smoke had been facing charges of transportation of a stolen vehicle over state lines.
On Jan. 17, he was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after a Rolls Royce he borrowed in California for a music video turned up at his mother's house in Brooklyn with fake license plates, according to reports.
Smoke pleaded not guilty and was released on $250,000 bail on the same day.
Jackson was born July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn.
He got his start in 2018 on the New York drill music scene, hanging out at recording studios and learning the ropes from other established artists. He started out by remixing popular music and went on to find major success creating his own sound.
— ArLuther Lee of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
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