(Newswire.net — May 27, 2016) — New York – One dead and three left wounded on Wednesday in a shooting at a rap concert in New York. The Police have arrested Roland Collins, known by stage name Troy Ave (T.I.) after shooting at Irving Plaza in Manhattan, the Guardian reported.
The rapper face charges over the death of Ronald McPhatter in a shooting at a packed hip-hop concert where Troy Ave had been scheduled to perform. The police released a surveillance video that shows the rap artist discharging a gun inside the venue.
A fight started on Wednesday night in the performers lounge. The surveillance video shows a gunman storming into the VIP room chasing another man, who fled off-screen. In the eight-second video, the gunman stood in the middle of the room looking for someone then raised his gun and shot.
The Guardian reported that the man who died, Ronald McPhatter, was in charge of security and was a member of TI’s entourage. The 33-year-old rap artist was wounded in the leg.
According to chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, two more people were wounded and hospitalized: Christopher Vinson was hit in the chest by a bullet that travelled through the floor. Another bystander, Maggie Heckstall, was shot in the leg, authorities have reported.
Police Commissioner William Bratton blamed the sub culture calling hip-hop artists “thugs that basically celebrate the violence that they live all their lives”.
“The music, unfortunately, oftentimes celebrates violence, celebrates degradation of women, celebrates the drug culture, and it’s unfortunate that as they get fame and fortune that some of them are just not able to get out of the life, if you will,” Commissioner Bratton told WCBS radio
The shooting and Bratton’s comments come at a time amid criticism of his department for its treatment of another Brooklyn hip-hop artist, Bobby Shmurda, the Billboard reported.
Facing numerous drug and conspiracy charges due to lyrics from his songs, the hip-hop singer was arrested in December 2014 and is still awaiting trial 526 days later.
Trying to smooth out the hate-talk of the Police Commissioner, the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, said afterward that he believed Bratton had been “talking out of frustration”.
“I think it’s not really right to see a whole genre through one eye. There are some rap artists and folks in the hip-hop culture doing amazing, good things for the world,” de Balasio said.