The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating if the recent fatal shooting of PnB Rock was prompted after the rapper was tagged in an Instagram post.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said the Monday attack took place soon after the Philadelphia rapper was tagged in a post at the Roscoe’s Chicken ‘N Waffles in South Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times
reports.Police are investigating whether the Instagram post tipped the gunman who killed the songwriter. Rock, 30, whose real name was Rakim Allen, was at the restaurant with his girlfriend. She allegedly posted a since-deleted Instagram post that tagged their location.
The rapper “was with his family—with his girlfriend or some kind of friend of his—and as they’re there, enjoying a simple meal, [he] was brutally attacked by an individual who apparently [came] to the location after a social media posting,” Moore said.
Eyewitnesses say the gunman targeted Rock for his jewelry and other items. The rapper was shot immediately after the gunman demanded his property, Police Capt. Kelly Muniz said.
“He shot the victim and ran out the side door to a getaway car and then fled the parking lot,” Muniz said.
Rock was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead at 1:59 p.m.
Investigators are looking into security video from inside the restaurant to identify the shooter. They’re also reviewing surveillance footage from surrounding businesses to see whether security systems captured any images of the assailant or the getaway vehicle.
The rapper talked about being a robbery target in LA shortly before his death. In an interview with YouTuber, DJ Akademiks
, released about a week before he was killed, Rock said LA criminals were “bold” and shared a story about when he, his girlfriend, and his child were being followed.“I be trying to be cool because you don’t want to be nervous,” he said. “You want [your family ] to be as calm as possible.”