The Los Angeles Police are searching for a former gang member suspected of causing the death of beloved West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle. Police identified Eric Holder, 29, who is known in the streets as former Crips gang member “Sh-tty Cuz”.
Hussle, who was born Ermias Asghedom, was a devout member of the Rolling 60s Crips street gang.
Police say Holder opened fire on Hussle and three other men at close range outside Hussle’s clothing store in a strip mall on Slauson Avenue in South Los Angeles around 3:20 p.m. Sunday.
Hussle, 33, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and head. Two others are in stable condition. One person refused medical treatment at the scene.
Holder fled to a waiting getaway vehicle described as a white 4-door Chevy Cruze with California license plate 7RJD742. Police say the getaway driver was an unidentified female accomplice.
The police knew Holder’s identity by Sunday evening, but investigators didn’t release his name and photo to the public until late Monday – 24 hours after Hussle’s fans had already shared Holder’s name and pictures on the Internet.
READ ALSO: LA Police Chief: ‘Social Media is Costing People Their Lives’
Hussle’s friends and associates say Holder was a member of the same Rolling 60s Crips street gang that Hussle pledged his allegiance to as a teenager.
But Holder was considered enemy No. 1 because he was suspected of being a police informant and a snitch. He was reportedly responsible for many arrests and even a murder or two in the past.
On Saturday, when Holder visited Hussle’s Marathon Clothing Company, Hussle politely asked the former gang banger to leave his store. There are also reports that Hussle told Holder not to bring his girlfriend – the suspected getaway driver – into his store again.
Police believe the trigger event that set the tragedy into motion was a tweet sent out by Hussle hours before he died.
“Having strong enemies is a blessing,” he tweeted on March 31.
Holder was seen as a “strong enemy” who was not welcomed on Hussle’s block.
Having strong enemies is a blessing.
— THA GREAT (@NipseyHussle) March 31, 2019
LA Police Chief Michael Moore blames social media for driving the gun violence in the streets of Los Angeles. 36 people were shot and 10 killed, including Hussle, since last Sunday.
“We see social media driving violence. I’ll just say it,” Moore said. “It allows an attitude of disrespect and it gets settled on the street. The stuff that is going out is costing people their lives.”
