Pop Smoke

Note: As this event had just recently come out in the news, some of the new info may have already been released after the creation of this article.

On February 19, 2020, Panamanian-Jamaican-American rapper-songwriter Pop Smoke (real name: Bashar Barakah Jackson) was shot and killed in his rental home at Block 2000, Hercules Drive, in Hollywood Hills, California, during a home invasion gone wrong. He was shot several times and taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles by police before succumbing to his gunshot wounds.

What Happened?
On February 19, Jackson was sleeping in his rental home when 4 masked home invaders broke into his home, with one of the 4 being armed with a pistol and shooting him numerous times. Police were called to the scene after the home invaders fled at 5 a.m. (UTC -8) where they found his shot-up body and rushed him to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he succumbed to his wounds in.

Aftermath
Following the announcement of Jackson's murder, several celebrities began making tributes to Pop Smoke.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp, who owns the home that was being rented to the artist, released a statement on the situation:

"Early this [morning], we were informed by a 3rd party leasing and management company overseeing a rental home we own in Los Angeles that a shooting had taken place at the property," she said in an Instagram post. "Foremost, we would like to extend our prayers and condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this tragic loss of life. We aren’t aware of any of the details beyond what we’ve been told or seen reported on the news and at this time we would like to refrain from commenting further as we wish for the focus to remain on the law enforcement officers who are diligently doing their jobs."

Nicki Minaj, who worked with Pop Smoke on the gritty "Welcome to the Party" remix back in August, wrote, "The Bible tells us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave. Unbelievable. Rest In Peace, Pop."

Chance the Rapper said via Twitter, "Rest Up Pop Smoke, you were too young. God Bless and comfort your family. What a crazy trajectory you were on man smh."

Police investigations have reported that the 4 home invaders are possibly gang-related and are looking into whether it was related to Pop Smoke's January 2020 arrest in Brooklyn after the latter was wrongly accused of "stealing" a black 2019 rental Rolls-Royce that he borrowed for a music video in California.