Rapper ASAP Rocky was arrested on Wednesday in Los Angeles on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from an alleged nonfatal shooting last year, the police said.
The musician, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, 33, had just landed in Los Angeles following a private flight from Barbados along with his pregnant girlfriend, the pop singer and fashion entrepreneur Rihanna. The trip had been extensively documented by celebrity media and paparazzi.
The shooting occurred in the Hollywood area on Nov. 6, 2021, around 10:15 pm, during an argument “between two acquaintances,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. “The argument escalated and resulted in the suspect firing a handgun at the victim,” who was later treated for a minor injury.
Rocky and two other men then fled the scene on foot, the authorities said.
The Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment further. Representatives for the rapper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rocky, who has also worked as an actor and model, broke out early last decade as the leading man of the Harlem-based, internet-fluent rap collective ASAP Mob, and has since released three major-label albums, collaborating widely with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Lana Del Rey.
In 2019, Rocky was found guilty for his part in a Stockholm street fight that became a closely watched international incident involving then-President Donald J. Trump. Rocky and two members of his entourage had said they were acting in self-defence when they kicked and punched a 19-year-old man who they claimed was harassing their group.
Rocky’s level of fame has increased of late in connection to his relationship with Rihanna, 34, an international superstar in fashion, music and more. The singer currently appears pregnant on the cover of Vogue, following her announcement in January that she was expecting her first child with the rapper.
-NYtimes