Nipsey Hussle Shooting Suspect Named As 29-Year-Old Eric Holder By Los Angeles Police, Who Ask Public For Help
Los Angeles police have named a suspect in the Sunday shooting death of rapper and community activist Nipsey Hussle, whose given name was Ermias Asghedom, according to a report by Fox 11 LA News. The suspect is named as 29-year-old Eric Holder, who has no known relation to the former U.S. Attorney General of the same name.
Hussle was killed at about 3:20 p.m. PT on Sunday in the parking lot of a clothing store he owned in South Los Angeles. He died of gunshot wounds to the head and torso, according to a coroner’s report, as KABC TV News reported.
Reports on Twitter said that Holder is known by the street name “Sh***y Cuz.”
Police identified the “suspect vehicle” as “a 2016 white four-door Chevy Cruze” with a California license plate numbered 7RJD742. The vehicle was driven by “an unidentified female,” according to police. Holder is believed to be the man seen in a surveillance video obtained and published online by The Daily Mail, which shows a man approaching Hussle in the parking lot and apparently shooting him.
“The gunman could be seen firing from a distance before approaching and shooting multiple times at close range,” The Daily Mail reported. “The gunman appeared to kick Hussle before fleeing the same way he came.”
Eric Holder is wanted for Homicide in the shooting of Nipsey Hussle. He was last seen in a 2016 white 4 door Chevy Cruze CA license plate 7RJD742. Anyone with information related to his whereabouts or this deadly shooting is urged to contact South Bureau Homicide at 323-786-5100 pic.twitter.com/3pX4fbezDs
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) April 2, 2019
According to a report by The Los Angeles Times, while police believe that the suspect may have ties to a Los Angeles street gang, the killing of Hussle, who has often spoken of his involvement earlier in life with the “Rollin’ 60s” Los Angeles gang, possibly resulted from a personal dispute rather than a gang feud.
A New York Daily News report also stated that police sources say the shooting was likely the result of some sort of personal association between Hussle and the shooter that had “gone wrong.” The shooting was not likely the result of a vendetta by a “rival gang,” the sources told the paper.
Earlier on Monday, sources told The L.A. Times that they believed the gunman was someone known to Hussle, who had been involved in some sort of an argument with the Grammy-nominated rapper prior to the shooting.
But whether any of those characterizations fit Holder remains unclear. Police released no further information about Holder. But according to an unverified Twitter post by publicity and marketing firm OTR, Hussle had earlier “embarrassed” the suspect in a “roomful of people.” None of the details in the social media post have been independently confirmed, however.
Police say they are seeking the public’s help in locating and apprehending Holder.
