Silento, the Atlanta rapper behind the viral hit ‘Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)’, has been arrested for the murder of his cousin.
The song was one of the first real “viral” hits on social media back in 2015 which ended up being a top 5 Billboard track. “Today, Ricky Hawk, 23, was arrested for the murder of his cousin Frederick Rooks, 34,” Georgia’s DeKalb County Police Department announced on Monday (Feb. 1). “On January 21, the DeKalb County Police Department investigated Rooks’ death after he was found shot on Deep Shoals Circle. Hawk is in the DeKalb County Jail charged with Murder.”
Today, Ricky Hawk, 23, was arrested for the murder of his cousin Frederick Rooks, 34. On January 21, the DeKalb County Police Department investigated Rooks' death after he was found shot on Deep Shoals Circle. Hawk is in the DeKalb County Jail charged with Murder. #WeAreDKPD pic.twitter.com/AfaA8CtXgx
— DeKalb County Police Department (@DeKalbCountyPD) February 1, 2021
According to AJC, Police responded to a shots fired call Jan. 21 around 3:30 a.m. in the Panthersville area where they found 34-year-old Frederick Rooks dead on the scene with multiple gunshot wounds.
“I think it is connected to this house,” DeKalb police Lt. Rod Bryant said at the time while investigating the case and collecting video footage evidence from several houses in the area. “We’re still doing a little bit more investigation. The people in the house know him, but he really don’t live there, so we’re trying to see what’s going on.”
Silento, real name Ricky Hawk was being held without bond, conformed police spokeswoman Michaela Vincent. Eight bullet casings were collected at the scene but Detectives were still working to uncover a motive for the shooting, Vincent said.
The rapper was also arrested twice in one week in August on domestic violence and gun charges in California. Silento’s ‘Watch Me‘ has been viewed a whopping 1.8 billion times on YouTube alone.