Rapper A$AP Rocky — whose real name is Rakim Mayers — was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon on Wednesday morning at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in connection to a November 2021 shooting. The news comes nearly three years after former President Donald Trump lobbied to free A$AP Rocky from a Swedish jail.
In November of 2021, “an argument between two acquaintances occurred,” which “escalated and resulted in the suspect firing a handgun at the victim. The victim sustained a minor injury from the incident and later sought his medical treatment,” the LAPD explained in a Wednesday statement.
“Following the shooting, the suspect and two additional males fled the area on foot,” the LAPD added. “Detectives worked diligently to investigate and corroborate the reporting information which helped identify the suspect(s) involved.”
“The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Rakim Mayers, a Los Angeles resident, also known as music artist A$AP Rocky,” the LAPD confirmed, adding that the rapper was arrested “for assault with a deadly weapon (firearm).”
The LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division detectives reportedly made the arrest with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations team, detaining the rapper as he arrived to L.A. on a plane from Barbados.
A$AP Rocky had been on vacation with his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna, who is pregnant. The couple is currently expecting their first child together.
The rapper’s arrest at LAX comes nearly three years after he was arrested in Sweden after a street brawl between his entourage and others.
At the time, then-President Donald Trump called Sweden Prime Minister Stefan Löfven personally, to lobby to get the rapper freed from a Swedish jail.
A Swedish court eventually ruled that A$AP Rocky and two other U.S. suspects could be freed from detention ahead of the verdict on their charges being announced.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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