PnB Rock has died after being reportedly shot multiple times while eating at a Los Angeles restaurant, drawing shock from the rapper’s fans online along with warnings about social media users sharing their location.
PnB Rock, 30, whose real name is Rakim Hasheem Allen, was shot at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles in South Los Angeles as he was robbed of his jewelry, then rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead at 2 p.m., police told The Los Angeles Times.
The condition of PnB Rock, best known for his 2016 hit “Selfish,” as well as other details of his shooting, had not been disclosed yet as his fans took to Twitter to wish him a speedy recovery. Others on Twitter said the shooting was a cautionary tale about the perils of location-sharing on social media.
“I need everybody to keep@PnBRock in your prayers,” rapper Coi Leray reacted on Twitter.
Following the shooting, a since-deleted Instagram post from PnB Rock’s girlfriend that tagged their location has circulated online. The events leading up to the gunfire have not been confirmed, but Twitter users have suggested the Instagram post was used to target the rapper.
“After everything we’ve learned about social media, posting and tagging your location in real time is detrimental to your safety,” Twitter user Linda, self-described marketer and writer, said. “Not everyone wishes you well.”
Twitter user @Peterpumping wrote in a tweet that “the same scenario happened with Pop smoke. You people need to learn to stop posting your location while you’re still there.”
Rapper Pop Smoke, whose legal name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, was killed during a home invasion at his Los Angeles residence in February 2020. Leading up to his death, Pop Smoke, who was renting a Hollywood Hills home, had posted images to his Facebook Story with large amounts of cash and videos in which gift bags were opened, revealing his address, according to New York’s Daily News.
As fans mourned Pop Smoke’s death, Captain Jonathan Tippet, head of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, told the Associated Press that three men and two teenage boys likely knew that Pop Smoke was at the home he was renting from the rapper’s social media posts. The LAPD arrested the suspects later that summer.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016 after posting a picture of her outfit in the city, according to CNN. She later said during The New York Times DealBook Conference that she changed her social media posting habits after being robbed.
PnB Rock appeared on CultureMillennials before the shooting Monday and described previous robbery attempts in Los Angeles.
While some Twitter users blamed the post by PnB Rock’s girlfriend, others came to her defense.
“Y’all keep blaming his girlfriend for posting her location instead of addressing the real issue!!” Twitter user Hot Sauce and Ketchup said in a tweet. “People should be able post their food and location without fear of being killed or robbed. The culture is so trash.”
The post Rapper PnB Rock Shot Dead at L.A. Restaurant After Photo Shared: Report appeared first on Newsweek.
