Devastated relatives of murdered rapper Pop Smoke are in ‘full investigation mode’ to try and find out who shot him dead in Los Angeles.
Family sources say they have personally questioned friends and witnesses who were at the $2.5million Hollywood Hills mansion before the shooting and have demanded to see security footage, according to TMZ.
The 20-year-old artist, who identified himself as a member of the infamous Crips gang in a song released earlier this month, was shot dead at about 4.30am Wednesday.
The murder is now being investigated as a gang-related attack, according to police sources, after it was initially thought to be a botched home invasion robbery because it came hours after Pop Smoke shared several social media posts showing off high-value items.
But his relatives, who flew to L.A. from New York as soon as they heard the tragic news, are said to be bemused by the new focus of the investigation because they were unaware of him having any enemies on the West Coast.
The murder is now being investigated as a gang-related attack, according to police sources, after it was initially thought to be a botched home invasion robbery
Medics are seen carrying the victim to an ambulance that transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead
Pop Smoke was shot dead after at least four men wearing ski masks broke into a home in Hollywood Hills at about 4.30am Wednesday
The incident was initially thought to be a botched home invasion robbery because it came hours after Pop Smoke shared several media posts showing off high-value items. In the Instagram photo above, posted Tuesday, the rapper is sitting in the driver’s seat of a Range Rover next to his friend Mike Dee, who is holding a massive stack of cash
A source told TMZ that ‘nothing makes sense’ as it would be unlikely for an East Coast hitman to travel all the way to L.A. when the rapper spends so much of his time in New York.
The source said Smoke was in L.A. to promoting his new album and to ‘relax a bit’ before going on tour in March.
TMZ said the rapper’s family ‘is in full investigation mode and won’t stop until they get some answers.’
Cops at first suspected a botched robbery because of social media posts by the rapper featuring the exact address of the home, which is said to have been renting from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband.
But authorities are now reportedly treating it as a targeted hit based on surveillance video from the property and Pop Smoke’s alleged Crips affiliation.
Insiders who have seen CCTV footage told TMZ four men can be seen approaching the $2.5million home on Hercules Drive roughly ten minutes after people inside deadbolted the front door.
One of the suspects apparently walked to the back of the house, where there were no cameras, and entered before multiple shots were fired.
That suspect, who TMZ said is presumed to be the shooter, then fled through the front door with nothing in his hands.
He and his alleged accomplices are still on the run as of Thursday morning.
Police arrived at the home within minutes of receiving a call about the gunfire.
The murder of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke is being investigated as a gang-related attack, police sources say
LAPD officials say they are still searching for the assailants, who fled the scene on foot
First responders with the Los Angeles Fire Department were filmed rolling Pop Smoke out of the home on a stretcher.
He was transported by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood, where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives questioned the witnesses in side the house and determined none of them were involved in the shooting.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, LAPD Captain Steve Lurie said authorities were searching for between two and six suspects.
Lurie did not disclose the name of the victim but multiple law enforcement sources and Pop Smoke’s record label, Republic Records, confirmed it was the rapper, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson.
Lurie said the motive for the shooting has not been determined and investigators were not ready to say if it was targeted or random.
However, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that the attack is considered a gang-related homicide because of Pop Smoke’s apparent ties to the Crips.
Pop Smoke shared a video on his Facebook Story hours before the shooting which featured the exact address of the home where it took place
Detectives suspect the assailants are probably gang members, but they have not determined if the slaying was motivated by gang rivalry, the outlet reported.
‘There is a lot of information available,’ LAPD Captain Jonathan Tippet said. ‘We have some work to do.’
Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home on Instagram the day before he was killed.
In two of the photos the tracksuit-clad rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived.
In the third photo, Pop Smoke is sitting in the driver’s seat of the SUV next to his friend Mike Dee, who is holding a massive stack of cash.
The caption read: ‘GET STRAIGHT PASSION – ZIP HIM UP BAG EM – LOUIS V LOUIS V LOUIS V.’
He also shared a video on his Facebook Story showing off pricey gifts he’d been sent.
One of the gift bags clearly featured the address of the home – sparking speculation that the attackers learned where to find him via the post.
The apparent home invasion unfolded at about 4.30am at 2033 Hercules Drive (pictured). Pop Smoke was reportedly renting from Real Housewives star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband
Hours before he was killed Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home on Instagram. In two of the photos (above) the rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived
The property is owned by actor and producer Edwin Arroyave and his wife Teddi Mellencamp, daughter of musician John Mellencamp.
Arroyave owns several homes in the Los Angeles area, and sources say Pop Smoke was renting the Hercules Drive through AirBnB.
Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple’s rental properties in an Instagram post.
‘Foremost, we would like to extend our prayers and condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this tragic loss of life,’ she wrote in the caption.
‘We aren’t aware of any of the details beyond what we’ve been told or seen reported on the news and at this time we would like to refrain from commenting further as we wish for the focus to remain on the law enforcement officers who are diligently doing their jobs.’
The house is owned by actor and producer Edwin Arroyave, the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp (pictured together in February 2019)
Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple’s rental properties in an Instagram post (pictured)
Minutes after news of Pop Smoke’s death broke, Nicki Minaj posted a photo of him on Instagram, writing: ‘The Bible tells us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave. Unbelievable. Rest in Peace, Pop.’
The cryptic caption suggests Pop Smoke may have known the suspects – but law enforcement sources have not said if they think there is a connection.
Several other artists including Quavo, Chance the Rapper and 50 Cent also paid tribute to Pop Smoke on social media.
Kylie Jenner, who’s boyfriend Travis Scott collaborated with Pop Smoke on the hit song Gatti last year, also shared her heartbreak at the news on Twitter.
Pop Smoke’s slaying is one in a string of deaths of young rappers in recent years involving violence and drug overdoses, including Juice WRLD, Mac Miller, XXXTentacion, Nipsey Hussle and Lil Peep.
Rapper and podcast host alluded to the previous deaths in a tweet about Pop Smoke, writing: ‘Prayers up, yet again.’
Minutes after news of the shooting broke, Nicki Minaj posted a photo of Pop Smoke on Instagram, writing: ‘ The Bible tells us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave. Unbelievable. Rest in Peace, Pop.’ The cryptic caption suggests Pop Smoke may have known the suspects
Quavo also paid tribute to Pop Smoke by sharing photos of them together on Instagram
Rapper 50 Cent tweeted a photo of Pop Smoke in the studio
Chance The Rapper shared his sadness over Pop Smoke’s death at such a young age
Kylie Jenner, who’s boyfriend Travis Scott collaborated with Pop Smoke on the hit song Gatti last year, also shared her heartbreak at the news on Twitter
Pop Smoke, who hails from Brooklyn, rose to fame last summer with the release of his debut mixtape Meet the Woo.
The lead single on that album, Welcome to the Party, reached number five on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and was remixed by Nicki Minaj.
The rapper released his second mixtape, Meet the Woo V.2, earlier this month. The album was met with rave reviews and reached number seven on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
He rapper was set to go on tour in March, with 24 shows across the US and the UK. Ten of those shows were sold out within two weeks of when the tour was announced.
Pop Smoke was also slated to perform at the famed Rolling Loud hip-hop festival in Miami in May.
His rapid ascent to fame was accompanied by several brushes with the law, including a recent arrest for car theft.
He was detained at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City in January after police alleged he stole a black 2019 Rolls-Royce Wraith that he had borrowed for a music video in California, according to The New York Times.
Investigators said the rapper had transported the $375,000 car to New York on the back of a flatbed truck sometime between November 5 and December 3.
He then posed with the allegedly stolen car in an Instagram post that has since been deleted.
Pop Smoke pleaded not guilty to charges of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle and denied the allegations in a radio interview on February 7.
‘Foolishness. I’ll tell you later,’ he told Power 105.1 host Angie Martinez . ‘But just know… But you know, it’s cap. We gon’ keep it like that. But just know! Man, look at me man.’
During a court hearing in that case, a federal prosecutor said the government believed Pop Smoke was a member of the Crips.
The rapper himself made that claim in one of his songs on his second album.
‘Everybody know I’m Crip,’ he rapped in Armed N Dangerous.
Last September the Times published an interview with Pop Smoke and noted that he’d recently been required to wear an ankle monitor as part of a diversion program connected to a weapon charge, which was later dismissed.
The rapper told the newspaper that he wanted to make music for young people who ‘got to carry their guns to school because it ain’t safe, but they still got to make sure they get they diploma ’cause they mom could be happy. I do it for them.’
In other interviews he described how he was expelled from middle school because he brought a firearm to campus.
In October, Pop Smoke was removed from the lineup for Rolling Loud’s festival in Queens after the NYPD sent a letter to organizers raising concerns that he and four other artists posed a public safety risk because they were ‘affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide’.
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