ATLANTA (AP) – Silento, the Atlanta rapper known for his hit “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)”, was arrested on Monday and charged with murder in the shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin, officials said. .
DeKalb County police said in a statement on Twitter that the 23-year-old rapper whose legal name is Ricky Hawk was arrested in that Atlanta suburb. The police statement said he was in county jail, charged with murder in connection with the death of Frederick Rooks on January 21.
The statement did not elaborate on the circumstances of Hawk’s death or imprisonment.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Hawk was being held without bail on Monday.
The newspaper had previously reported that the police responded to a call for shots fired on January 21 at around 3:30 am in the Panthersville community in DeKalb County. The newspaper quoted the police as saying that officers found Rooks dead with several gunshot wounds that night.
It was not immediately known if Hawk had a lawyer who could comment for him. His manager did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email on Monday night.