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Who was Frederick Rooks? Rapper Silentó arrested for alleged murder of cousin after 8 bullet casings were found

Cops responded to shots fired on January 21 around 3.30 am in the Panthersville area where they found Rooks dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds

Silento has done it again. Known across the world for his 2015 viral banger ‘Watch Me (Whip Nae Nae)’, rapper Silento was arrested on Monday, February 1, for his involvement in the alleged murder of his cousin Frederick Rooks. According to authorities, the Atlanta native, whose real name is Richard Lamar “Ricky” Hawk, was arrested in DeKalb County and charged with murder in the shooting death of his cousin.

According to AJC (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), cops responded to shots fired on January 21 around 3.30 am in the Panthersville area where they found Rooks dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, as revealed by DeKalb police Lt Rod Bryant.

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Silento’s arrest

The news of the 23-year-old hip-hop artiste getting arrested was confirmed by the official Twitter account of DeKalb County Police Department. In a post shared on their social media wall, they said, “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.”

According to AJC, responding officers were able to gather video from multiple residents’ security cameras, as revealed by the incident report. The video showed several cars fleeing the scene at high speeds, and the footage captured at least one gunshot. Eight bullet casings were collected at the scene.

What the Internet is saying 

The news of rapper Silento getting arrested soon went viral on the Internet as social media users went into a frenzy over the shocking news. One user posted, “Can’t even judge Silento cuz I’d probably go insane too if I hit a billion views on YouTube and proceed to flop.”

A user shared, “Silento’s story will go down in music history as the hardest decline for a one-hit-wonder. He reached fame at a young age and been on a rapid decline ever since. Instead of receiving the help he desperately needed, he became the face for 'crazy has-beens'. This is heartbreaking.”

Another added, “The lifetime movie about Silento is about to be fire.” One individual said, “Silento is gonna be forced to whip and nae nae EVERY DAY in prison.....god thats gonna suck for him.” A user expressed, “The sentence “Silento killed a man” sounds so surreal.”

Who is rapper Silento? 

Silento was raised in Stone Mountain and is a graduate of Redan High School in DeKalb. He rose to fame with his hit track ‘Watch Me (Whip Nae Nae)’ in 2015 and dropped his first album, ‘Fresh Outta High School,’ in August 2018.

Silento’s brush with crime is not a new thing as he has been arrested multiple times in recent months. The rapper was arrested twice in one week in August 2020 on domestic violence and gun charges in California. Then, in late October 2020, he was again arrested and booked into the DeKalb jail on charges for speeding.