Wowdy HBTL was charged with murder after a Bronx basketball court shooting left one man dead and a teenage girl in critical condition.
Bronx drill rapper Wowdy HBTL was charged with murder and attempted murder after a back-to-school basketball tournament in the Bronx turned deadly.
Gunfire erupted at Heaton Park on Sunday (August 24), killing one man and injuring four others, including a teenage girl shot in the face, who was left fighting for her life.
The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Robert Royal, was arraigned Monday (August 25) in Bronx Criminal Court alongside 20-year-old Daeven Reyes. Both were ordered held without bail.
Two teenagers, 17-year-old Messiah Hugie and 16-year-old Ny’Zay Wigfall, were also charged in the case.
Royal and Reyes face counts of murder, attempted murder, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon. The teens were also hit with murder charges.
According to police, multiple shooters opened fire at the crowded basketball court, striking five people.
Among the victims was 32-year-old Jaceil Banks, who was shot in the chest and later died.
A 17-year-old girl, Anthonaya Campbell, was shot in the face and remains in critical condition.
A 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were both shot in the back, while another individual was hit in the arm.
Law enforcement sources believe the shooting was gang-related.
Royal’s mother told the New York Post her son was wrongly identified by police.
“It’s mistaken identity because that [victim] was his friend,” she told the outlet.
She also claimed Royal had previously been charged in another case but was “ultimately exonerated” of attempted murder and gun possession charges last year. She claimed he was fleeing a shootout when officers detained him.
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