Houston police make arrest for the killing of rapper Takeoff

By Elise Hammond and Christina Maxouris, CNN

One month after the fatal shooting of Takeoff, Houston authorities arrested and charged a man with murder in connection with the rapper’s killing, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner announced at a news conference Friday.

Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, was arrested on the east side of Houston, Thursday evening. Another man, Cameron Joshua, 22, was arrested last month and charged with the unlawful carrying of a weapon, the chief said. When asked how the latter was connected to the case, Finner said Joshua was at the scene and was “in possession of a weapon (and) he’s a felon.”

CNN is attempting to find whether the two suspects have representation.

Takeoff, who was a member of the platinum-selling rap group Migos, was shot and killed outside a business on November 1 after a private event. He was 28. His uncle Quavo and cousin Offset were the other two members of the trio.

“We lost a good man,” Finner said during the news conference. “I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him but everybody, the hundreds of people that I’ve talked to, spoke on what a great individual he was.”

In a motion filed on Friday, prosecutors in Harris County requested a $1 million bond for Clark, arguing he should be considered a “flight risk.” Shortly after the killing, Clark allegedly applied for an expedited passport, which he received immediately before his arrest, according to the motion. When he was arrested, he had a “large amount of cash money,” the court document added.

Prosecutors also made several other requests, including that Clark surrender “any and all passports, visas, or other travel documents,” be barred from leaving the immediate vicinity of Harris County and be subject to a curfew.

Takeoff was an ‘innocent bystander,’ investigator says

Though the incident remains an active investigation, what authorities know is Takeoff was “an innocent bystander,” Sgt. Michael Burrow, with the Houston Police Department’s homicide division, said Friday.

“The event was a private party, there was a lucrative dice game that went on at the event, there was an argument that happened afterwards outside the bowling alley, which led to the shooting,” Burrow said.

Takeoff was not involved in the dice game nor the argument and he was not armed, Burrow said.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Takeoff was a talented entertainer, and much more.

“He was a son, a brother, cousin and a friend, and a mentor to those in the music industry,” the mayor said, calling the arrest in his killing a “significant step toward seeking justice.”

“I want to express my regret and disappointment that this was a case of another young man taking the life of another young man for no reason,” he added. “The gun violence everywhere, not just in the city of Houston, has to stop.”

“Pulling a firearm can have deadly consequences that you cannot undo. So I’m glad an arrest has taken place, that we do have someone in custody. It is unfortunate, it really is unfortunate because it does not bring Takeoff back,” Turner said.

Authorities urge witnesses to come forward

Authorities are still working to find and talk to witnesses and both Burrow and the police chief urged those who were on scene and fled to contact authorities and share what they know.

“Any individual that’s killed in our city, it’s tough, and it’s tough on their family, tough on their friends. Everybody deserves an investigation,” Finner, the police chief said. “But … we need people to step up too. Do your part as a citizen and if you see something, you need to say something. Don’t let the fear paralyze you. Step up and say something.”

There were more than 30 people standing outside when the shooting happened, Burrow said.

“Literally every single one of those people left the scene without giving a statement to police,” he said. “We found a few of them that night, we’ve found others since then but it’s important that those people come forward.”

In the meantime, authorities have had to rely on “a large volume of video surveillance,” cell phone videos, audio, physical and ballistic evidence and shooting reconstruction efforts in their investigation.

“Through that, we were able to deduce that Patrick Clark is the lethal shooter in the case,” Burrow said.

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CNN’s Andy Rose and Andi Babineau contributed to this report.