Aspiring Bronx Drill Rapper Was Gunned Down In September, 17-Year-Old Arrested For Shooting Death

Authorities said they arrested a teenager related to the shooting of Jordany Aracena, 17, an aspiring drill rapper, on Sept. 25. in the Bronx. They believe he may have been targeted over his name-dropping lyrics and that the attack was retaliatory, though it’s unclear if any of the attackers were mentioned in his music

The New York Daily News reported that Aracena was on Beekman Avenue near E. 141st Street in Mott Haven when five people wearing ski masks fired off shots around 6:15 p.m. at him. The victim was hit in the chest and arm and the masked shooters dressed in black took off. Responding officers recovered two 9 mm shell casings at the scene.

Meanwhile, Aracena, who lived just down the block from the scene was transported to Lincoln Medical Center, where he was declared dead.

Lawmakers like NYC Mayor Eric Adams have been particularly critical of drill music. There is an argument that it glamorizes and encourages gang activity and gun violence within the Black community. Adams even called on social media companies to forbid drill videos from their platforms.

Furthermore, Complex reported that though investigators have linked the fatal incident to Aracena’s music, his family insists it was just a robbery gone wrong. “Yes, he was a rapper." “But he was happy and had a lot of friends. … It wasn’t his music, it was a robbery,” Aracena's cousin Odales Lenus said.

His ailing father was crushed by the violent end of his son, who is the youngest of four kids. “My wife died, and now our Jordany, he wasn’t the same after that,” Aracena's 62-year-old dad said. “He was a good son, I loved him with all my heart. Now that my son is dead, I can’t be happy anymore,” the teen's father who became disables after a pair of coronaries added.

The New York Post reported that an New York City Police Department (NYPD) memo announced that 111 people under the age of 18 had been shooting victims during the first eight months of this year, which is significantly high compared to 36 over the same period in 2017. This calculation outpaces the overall increase in gun violence in the five boroughs, which almost doubled from 2017 to 2022, from 992 shooting incidents to 1,206.