The motive behind Pop Smoke's murder is still in question as the Los Angeles police try to shuffle through evidence.
No arrests have been made in Pop Smoke's murder because police are still trying to decipher if the incident was a random robbery or a targeted crime, The New York Times reports. Shortly after Smoke's death, TMZ reported that authorities believed the crime was a "targeted hit." Yet, per Capt. Jonathan L. Tippet, there is conflicting evidence that makes it difficult to determine why Pop Smoke was killed.
Leading up to his death, Smoke—whose real name was Bashar Jackson—posted pictures of him holding large amounts of money to his Instagram. Also, the day before his death, a gift bag Smoke received was posted to social media revealing his address. Police are leaning towards this being the cause of the crime which adds to the potential number of suspects.
"It’s an angle we’re looking at," Tippet said to Times. "It also extends the pool of people that would have known where he was at and could have targeted him for a variety of reasons."
Although there were other people in the house, police say Smoke was alone in the section of the home where the murder occurred and that no one else was shot. While some items were taken, police state that there were some "standard signs of a robbery" that were missing. The intruders would have had to travel throughout the home to find Smoke. Yet, they didn't rummage through the home looking for valuables while searching for the rapper.
"There were a couple of items that were taken, but some of the things you would think would be taken weren’t even really looked for," Tippet said. "So that’s why we’re not really saying that it was a robbery or that he was the intended target."
Tippet also said that the LAPD was aware of Smoke's gang affiliations and criminal history. While it seems like robbing the home was an afterthought, there is no indication that a rival gang from the East Coast traveled to Los Angeles to target Smoke. Also, it's unclear if the rapper or his gang had any rivals in the Los Angeles area. Because Smoke was killed in an upscale neighborhood, almost all the homes had surveillance systems. So, the police are currently combing through these videos for any leads on the killers.
