4 suspects in rapper’s death seen on video
Four suspects wearing hoodies to obscure their identities were caught on surveillance video tied to Wednesday’s fatal shooting of rapper Pop Smoke in Los Angeles, law enforcement sources said.
And while the Brooklyn rapper, 20, 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 as opposed to a robbery, one source said.
“I can confirm there are at least four suspects based on surveillance video. That neighborhood is surrounded by video cameras, so we’re back again today. We still have a lot of work to do,” Los Angeles Police Robbery Homicide Division Capt. Jonathan Tippet told the Daily News Thursday.
He said the motive for the incident was still under investigation.
“Robbery still could be the motive; however, at this time we’re unable to substantiate that,” he said. “It’s a possibility that this was not intended to be a robbery.”
Pop Smoke (inset), whose real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, was a rising rap star who worked with industry superstars Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott and whose breakout single “Welcome to the Party” was remixed by ASAP Ferg, Meek Mill and Pusha T.
Law enforcement officials in New York passed along information to the LAPD alleging Jackson had gang ties on the East Coast, but the preliminary murder investigation revealed no clear connection to a gang dispute, Tippet 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,” he told The News.
On Thursday morning, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner officially identified Jackson as the victim of the deadly shooting.