Contradictory accounts of a possible shooting are emerging in Los Angeles, California. While the LA police department said that shots were fired outside of R&B singer Chris Brown’s Tarzana home on Friday (US time), the American singer-songwriter has outrightly distanced himself from any such incident.
Law enforcement sources, as first reported by TMZ, emphatically asserted that police responded to reports of a shooting outside Brown’s home and eventually arrested a suspect in connection with the gunfire. The “Under the Influence” crooner, on the other hand, set his foot down, issuing a furious statement on social media.
Chris Brown distances himself from LA home shooting reports
“AT THIS POINT THIS PATTERN IS OLD,” Brown fumed on his Instagram Stories after reports of the incident. Countering all headlines citing LAPD officials, the singer said, “I’m look at the news like the rest of yall wondering when and where the hell this happened. I been in my crib this whole time. Ain’t heard a gunshot, police car, or anything. DON’T ATTACH MY NAME TO NONE OF THE BULLSH*T. I got sh*t to do!”
Before Brown broke his silence online, investigators maintained that they didn’t know if the singer was home at the time of the reported shooting or if he shared any ties with the people involved, according to local US news outlet ABC7.com. The incident flared on the street outside Brown’s home, as per the statements shared by officials.
Los Angeles shooting suspect arrested
US news reports, on the contrary, cited jail records indicating that police arrested a man named Markeith Cungious. Currently being held in jail on $50,000 bail, the 35-year-old suspect was booked for assault with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm.
According to TMZ’s report, LAPD officers responded to Brown’s house in Tarzana, which he bought in June 2015 for $4.35 million, around 4 pm on Friday. The response was reportedly triggered by a female caller’s report of a possible shooting. Upon their arrival on scene, officials are said to have spoken to both the male suspect and the woman.
The suspected shooter alleged that the woman refused to leave the area, which sparked an argument between them. The situation reportedly spiralled out of hand when the woman drove her vehicle over the man’s foot. Thereafter, the man is believed to have fired shots at her car.
LAPD Media Relations further detailed that the man used a “CO2-style handgun” as his weapon. A police spokesperson also told EW that Cungious was booked at the Van Nuys Station in Los Angeles around 8:30 pm and released on bond just after noon the following day.
“At this time, it is unknown who the suspect was working for, and we are unable to confirm any employment or assignment details related to the individual,” the LAPD spokesperson added.
Reports of a shooting outside Brown’s house come almost two months after Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, a 35-year-old Florida woman, was arrested for allegedly shooting at Rihanna’s $14 million Beverly Hills home in Los Angeles in March. However, Ortiz pleaded not guilty to several charges, including attempted murder, use of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting into an inhabited dwelling with enhancements.