A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder in the killing of Takeoff, the rapper and member of Migos, at a bowling alley in Houston last month.
Announcing the news on Friday, Houston police said Takeoff, who was 28 and whose birth name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, was “an innocent bystander”.
The city police chief, Troy Finner, said Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, was arrested and charged on Thursday evening. Another man, Cameron Joshua, 22, was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon.
“We lost a good man,” Finner said of Takeoff.
Migos are best known for the song Bad and Boujee, which reached No 1 in the US, and collaborations with superstars Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Drake. Takeoff released one solo album, The Last Rocket, which made No 4 in 2018.
Takeoff was killed in the early hours of 1 November.
On Friday, a Houston police sergeant, Michael Burrow, told reporters: “The event was a private party, there was a lucrative dice game that went on at the event, there was an argument that happened afterwards outside the bowling alley which led to the shooting.
“I can tell you that Takeoff was not involved in playing the dice game, he was not involved in the argument that happened outside, he was not armed. He was an innocent bystander.”
Burrow also called for more witnesses to come forward, saying: “We’ve boiled it down to over 30 people that were standing outside [the bowling alley].
“Literally, every single one of those people left the scene without giving a statement to police. We found a few of them that night, we’ve found others since then, but it’s important that those people come forward.”
Under Texas law, if convicted of murder, Clark could receive between five years and 99 years in prison, and possibly even life imprisonment.
