Teen Gunman Confesses To Killing Bronx Drill Rapper, Denies Shooting Over Insult Video

The accused killer of a 17-year-old Bronx drill rapper was busted Wednesday and charged with murder in the Sept. 25 shooting of Jordany Aracena on Beekman Ave. near E. 141st St. in Mott Haven. The teen confessed to killing the Bronx drill rapper but said he didn’t know Aracena or anything about his drill rap lyrics and said he killed him over a petty turf dispute.

Investigators believe Aracena was gunned down over the offending lyrics in his music directed to specific people. However, the arrested suspect told the investigators that on the day of the murder, Aracena crossed the street and told the alleged killer and his friends to get off his block and that is when they shot and killed Aracena, New York Daily News reported.

Meanwhile, the detectives did not say if they believed the accused shooter had a motive for killing the rapper. Officers have not yet recovered the murder weapon and the suspect has refused to say where it is. Also, it is unclear if any of the men wearing the ski masks were mentioned in Aracena’s recordings. It would not be a surprise to those who are familiar with drill rap culture if Aracena was killed over his music.

City Councilman Oswald Feliz said Aracena was very new to drill music and may have said the wrong thing in a song that made him a target, Yahoo! News reported.

According to New York Post, the surveillance video captured the gunman and his companions sitting on an electrical box at the scene prior to the shooting, the video also shows Aracena fatally wounded on the ground as the group escapes. Aracena, who did not have prior arrests and was not affiliated with any gang, was pronounced dead at Lincoln Medical Center.

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

The authorities are still searching for four other suspects.