Authorities in Houston have arrested and charged a man in connection with the November 1 shooting death of Migos rap group member Takeoff. According to KTRK, Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, was taken into custody on Thursday.
Clark’s arrest also came hours before another individual was arrested and charged in connection with the 28-year-old’s killing. The other suspect, identified as Cameron Joshua, has been charged with two counts of felon in possession of a weapon. But authorities said the 22-year-old did not have any direct involvement in the Atlanta rapper’s death.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Takeoff – born Kirshnik Khari Ball – was shot and killed at a bowling alley in Houston. The deceased rapper was with fellow band member Quavo when the incident occurred. And the shooting reportedly happened following a confrontation after a dice game.
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In the wake of his killing, police said Takeoff was a bystander who had nothing to do with the altercation. “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,” HPD Homicide Division Sgt. Michael Burrow said in an address to reporters.
Clark was arraigned before a probable cause court on Friday. His bond was also set at $2 million because authorities believe he was attempting to flee. Two days before his arrest, Clark is said to have bought plane tickets to Mexico. He also obtained an expedited passport after applying for one.
“The court finds this behavior suggests; Indeed, you pose a flight risk and therefore the court is going to follow the recommendation of the prosecutor and set your bond at $2 million,” the judge said.
Following the rapper’s death, police said there were probably more than 30 people at the scene when the gunfire erupted, KTRK reported. But they said none of them remained to provide information to assist with investigations.
“Literally every single one of those people left the scene without giving a statement to police,” Burrow said. And though police have since located some of those people, Burrow said they still want to talk to more of them. “It’s important that those people come forward, and we’re still looking to talk to a lot of those people,” Burrow said.
Burrow also said they managed to link Clark to Takeoff’s murder after reviewing video and audio evidence. “We had to sift through all of that and use physical evidence, and use shooting reconstruction, and confirm a lot of our ballistic evidence. What weapons were involved?” Burrow said. “And through that, we were able to deduce that Patrick Clark is the legal shooter in the case. That’s why he’s being charged with murder.”
