Rapper Troy Ave Arrested for Fatal Shooting at T.I. Show
New York rapper Troy Ave, himself a victim in Wednesday’s night shooting at New York’s Irving Plaza that left one man dead, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the New York Police Department.
NYPD released surveillance video taken inside Irving Plaza that appears to show Troy Ave, whose real name is Roland Collins, opening fire inside the venue’s dressing room. Ronald McPhatter, the rapper’s bodyguard, was shot and killed Wednesday night, though it is still unclear if the two incidents are directly connected. Collins himself was shot in the leg and checked himself into NYU Langone Medical Center, though the Daily News reports that the rapper accidentally shot himself.
The shooting took place at a concert that included rappers T.I., Uncle Murda and Maino. T.I. was in the venue, but had not yet taken the stage. “My heart is heavy today,” he wrote on social media. “Our music is intended to save lives, like it has mine and many others. My heartfelt condolences to the family that suffered the loss and my prayers are with all those injured.”
Surveillance Video of Irving Plaza Shooting
WANTED: Info/witnesses regarding homicide at Irving Plaza in Manhattan. Call #800577TIPS. https://t.co/HuL0YszMK8 pic.twitter.com/hto8W6M42D
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 26, 2016
Maino took to social media to repudiate reports that a beef between him and Troy Ave was the source of the shooting. “Despite having to cope with more senseless violence, I woke up to the usual FALSE and ridiculous lies being circulated by irresponsible members of the media,” he wrote. “What transpired was absolutely NOT the result of MYSELF or ANYBODY IN MY CAMP , ENTOURAGE, TRAVELING PARTY or ORGANIZATION IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM.
“We entered the venue respectfully as always and exited in shocked like all other concertgoers. For the last 5 years, Troy Ave, his team and I have had a great working relationship. Not only have we performed and done several songs together but we’ve had many personal conversations about life our goals and efforts as musicians. Despite media reports to the contrary, there are no ‘ongoing beefs’ or ‘entourage issues.'”
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton caused a firestorm Thursday morning when he told a local radio station, “The crazy world of these so-called rap artists who are basically thugs that basically celebrate the violence that they’ve done all their lives,” Bratton said. “And unfortunately that violence often times manifests itself during their performances, and that’s exactly what happened last evening.”
But New York Mayor Bill Di Blasio disagreed with Bratton’s assessment, telling the New York Times, “I think that’s an American problem and beyond all of the issues of law which we have to change, obviously laws around gun safety in particular.”
According to the Daily News, the NYPD is awaiting ballistic test results before elevating Troy Ave’s charges to murder.