HOUSTON (AP) — Police have arrested a 33-year-old man on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of rapper Takeoff, who they said was a “innocent bystander” to gunfire last month outside a bowling alley in Houston.
Patrick Xavier Clark was taken into custody peacefully Thursday night, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Friday. Clark’s arrest came one day after another man was charged in connection with the shooting that wounded two other people.
Clark was being held in jail Friday awaiting a bond hearing. Court records do not list an attorney who could speak for him.
Born Kirsnick Khari Ball, Takeoff was the youngest member of Migos, the Grammy-nominated rap trio from suburban Atlanta that also featured his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset.
The 28-year-old musician was one of three people police said were shot outside the downtown bowling alley around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, when a dispute erupted as about 40 people were leaving a private party at the alley. Police have said another man and a woman suffered non-life-threatening gunshot injuries during the shooting, in which at least two people opened fired.
Police Sgt. Michael Burrow said during a Friday news conference that the shooting followed a dispute over a game of dice, but that Takeoff was not involved and was “an innocent bystander.”
On Wednesday, authorities announced the arrest of Cameron Joshua in connection to the shooting. Joshua was charged with illegally having a gun at the time Takeoff was shot, but prosecutors said the 22-year-old is not believed to have fired the weapon. Christopher Downey, Joshua’s attorney, told reporters that he has not seen anything to suggest that his client was involved in Takeoff’s killing.
Burrow said Friday that investigators believe it was Clark’s gunfire that killed the rapper.
Fans and other performers, including Drake and Justin Bieber, celebrated Takeoff’s musical legacy in a memorial service last month in Atlanta.
Migos’ record label, Quality Control, mourned Takeoff’s death in a statement posted on Instagram that attributed it to “senseless violence.”
Migos first broke through with the massive hit “Versace” in 2013. They had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, though Takeoff was not on their multi-week No. 1 hit “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. They put out a trilogy of albums called “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III,” with the first two hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Takeoff and Quavo released a joint album “Only Built for Infinity Links” just weeks before his death.
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Bleiberg reported from Dallas.
