PnB Rock’s Murder Suspect Identified: Report
UPDATE (11:30 A.M. EST): Per TMZ, Law enforcement sources say the 17-year-old son of Freddie Trone has been arrested in connection to the shooting. The son was reportedly the shooter and Freddie drove the getaway car. His name has not been released to the public.
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A man police believe is connected to the murder of PnB Rock has been identified, gossip site TMZ reports.
On Wednesday (Sept. 28) morning, LAPD announced that Freddie Lee Trone is “a person involved” in the Sept. 12 killing of the rapper. Law enforcement has not confirmed that he is the only person that they are looking for in the case as there was a getaway car parked outside of Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles where the murder took place.
Two weeks ago, PnB Rock (born Rakim Hasheem Allen) was dining at a local Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles with his girlfriend, Stephanie Sibounheuang, around 1 p.m. when the shooting occurred, TMZ first reported. The rapper’s girlfriend posted a photo of the food and tagged the location minutes prior to the attack, according to multiple sources.
Los Angeles police Capt. Kelly Muniz said that the victim was shot almost immediately by the assailant during the robbery according to The Los Angeles Times. “He shot the victim and ran out the side door to a getaway car and then fled the parking lot,” she said.
Law enforcement was called to the restaurant at 1:23 p.m. to respond to a shooting with life-threatening injuries. Rock was transported to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead at 1:59 pm, per The Los Angeles Times.
It’s been reported that the rapper was targeted for his jewelry.
Prior to the fatal shooting, the rapper sat down with DJ Akademiks on his podcast about recent robbery attempts.
“Where I’m from, we like sneaky criminals,” Rock said. “In L.A. … they bold.” Rock and Akademiks spoke about how robberies targeting rappers seemed to be becoming more common.
“I never got robbed, ever in my life,” Rock said. “I ain’t gonna say never because I don’t like saying never. I’m not superstitious, but I haven’t been robbed.”
Rock said that after his oldest brother was killed, he became more conscious of how suddenly a situation could become fatal.
“It’s just been something in me that just let me know, like this s— real life,” Rock said. “I done seen people die. I done been around people that died…. Anybody can die.”
Fans and fellow artists wrote thoughtful tributes on social media after news broke that he had been killed. Take a look at some of the tribute posts below:
PnB Rock: Celebs & Fans Pay Tribute To The Late Rapper
