L.A. police arrest five in murder of rapper Pop Smoke

Five suspects have been arrested for the murder of rapper Pop Smoke in February, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Thursday morning.

“LAPD Detectives have arrested three adult males & two juvenile males related to the Feb 19th murder of Bashar Jackson, a New York based rapper known as Pop Smoke,” the LAPD HQ account tweeted. “We will provide further details as they become available.”

Pop Smoke was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds Feb. 19 when police responded to a call on Hercules Drive in the Mount Olympus area of the Hollywood Hills. He died later at a hospital.

The 20-year-old, Brooklyn-based rapper suffered his fatal injuries at a rental property owned by Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” fame. The 911 call the LAPD responded to actually came from the east coast, from someone who had apparently been called by someone inside the L.A. property during the home invasion.

Pop Smoke’s posthumous album, “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon,” was released July 3, and is expected to debut at No. 1 on next week’s album chart.

The album met with largely positive reviews. The Atlantic called it “the soundtrack of a lost summer.” “The stacked album is an inarguable summer 2020 high mark,” wrote Complex. A deluxe version of the album with additional tracks is also being prepared for release.

Although the new album was officially Pop Smoke’s debut, he had risen to popularity on the strength of two mixtape collections, 2019’s “Meet the Woo” and February’s “Meet the Woo 2."