HOUSTON (AP) — A 33-year-old man has been arrested on murder charges in the shooting of the rapper Takeoff. Outside a bowling alley in Houston.
Patrick Xavier Clark was taken into custody peacefully Thursday night, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said. It was held the next day. Two people were injured after a dispute over his game of dice, officials said.
Clark was in jail on Friday awaiting a bail hearing. Court records do not list an attorney available to represent him, but they do show that he was arrested as he was preparing to leave the country for Mexico.
Born in Karsnik Kali Bor. Takeoff was the youngest member of Migos, a Grammy-nominated rap trio hailing from suburban Atlanta, which also included his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset.
The 28-year-old musician was shot outside a downtown bowling alley around 2:30 am. Police said the controversy erupted as more than 30 people were trying to leave his party privately. Police previously said another man and woman suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and at least two people opened fire.
Police Sergeant Michael Burrow said at a news conference on Friday that the shooting followed a disagreement over a “profitable” dice game, but that the takeoff was not involved and was an “innocent bystander.” Finner said police don’t know if Clark was invited to the party or if he knew about the takeoff.
Barrow said everyone at the scene left without consulting police. Authorities have since worked to piece together the event using ballistics, video and audio recordings, and some have been identified by officials, Barrow said. He said investigators are still trying to track down the witness.
“We are looking for you,” he said. “It’s easier when you come looking for us.”
On Wednesday, authorities announced the arrest of Cameron Joshua in connection with the shooting. Joshua was charged with illegally carrying a gun when the takeoff was shot, but prosecutors said the 22-year-old was not believed to have fired the gun. Downey told reporters he didn’t see anything to suggest his client was involved in Takeoff’s murder.
Burrow says investigators believe it was Clark’s shooting that killed the rapper.
Prosecutors on Friday asked the court to set Clark’s bail at $1 million, claiming he was at risk of flight. Court records show Clark fled to Mexico after the takeoff shooting. I applied for an expedited passport by submitting an itinerary for an ‘imminent’ flight. They say he was arrested the day he received his passport and was in possession of “a large amount” of cash.
Fans and other performers, including Drake and Justin Bieber, celebrated Takeoff’s musical legacy at the memorial service in Atlanta last month
Migos’ record label, Quality Control, mourned Takeoff’s death in a statement posted on Instagram, calling it “senseless violence”.
Migos first broke out in 2013 with the blockbuster “Versace.” Although he had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Takeoff wasn’t his Lil Uzi Vert-featuring No. 1 hit for multiple weeks in a row, “Bad and Boujee.” They released his trilogy of albums called ‘Culture’, ‘Culture II’ and ‘Culture III’, the first two of which earned him No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
A few weeks before his death, Takeoff and Quavo, who released their 2018 solo album The Last Rocket, released “Only Built for Infinity Links.” Joint with Quavo, Takeoff hopes his album will pay tribute to his lyrical talent, and said on the “Drink Champs” podcast, “It’s time to give me flowers.”
When Clarke’s arrest was announced on Friday, the voices of the takeoff could be heard again, alongside A$AP Rocky on Metro Boomin’s album Heroes and Villains, released that day in “Feel the Fear”. was featured in .
He sang, “Now the streets are quiet.”
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This story was first published on December 2, 2022. Updated for December 3, 2022 as AP erroneously reported that Takeoff had never released a solo record. Released solo album “The Last Rocket” in 2018.
