The suspect in the deadly Nashville robbery of a California rapper with ties to Justin Bieber and a group of friends was free on bond for a 2021 murder at the time of the deadly stickup outside a music studio Saturday, according to city police.
Christopher Cheeks, a 32-year-old rapper known as Chris King, died with a gunshot wound after encountering a group of muggers along Hayes Street, police said. Another man with Cheeks at the time also suffered a gunshot wound.
Nashville detectives were on the hunt for Adrian Cameron, a 19-year-old who is supposed to be wearing an ankle monitor in connection with the murder of another man named Josh Evans, 50, who police found shot dead in the Cumberland River.
Rapper Chris King performs live on stage during the ‘Tripp At Knight Tour’ at FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park on September 19, 2021 in Miami, Florida. King, whose real name is Christopher Cheeks, died at the age of 32 Saturday after a group of younger men allegedly confronted and shot him in a robbery attempt outside a Nashville music studio. (Johnny Louis/Getty Images)
The surviving victim, identified only as a 29-year-old friend of Cheeks, told police that the suspected shooter and two others approached them “cordially” and hung around for a bit before attempting the robbery.
Cheeks revealed in an Instagram post in December that he and Bieber had been roommates for a year more than a decade ago.
Nashville police were seeking Adrian Cameron, 19, in connection with the fatal shooting of rapper Chris King outside a music studio Saturday. The suspect was out on bond in connection with a 2021 murder at the time of the crime. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
Bieber and other celebrities offered condolences on social media after news of Cheeks’ death.
“Love you bro,” Bieber shared when he reposted Cheeks’ photo of them together in an Instagram Story to his 292 million followers. “This one hurts. Please keep his family in your prayers. See you in paradise, brother.”
Justin Bieber poses during a new studio photo shoot August 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Bieber and slain rapper Chris King spent more than a year as roommates in the 2010s, according to their social media posts. (Mike Rosenthal/Getty Images)
Cameron’s father, who detectives had wanted to speak with while investigating Evans’ case, died after opening fire on a Nashville SWAT team outside his motel hideout, according to the Tennessean newspaper.
His son was a minor at the time of Evans’ murder and spent six months as a fugitive before surrendering at the city’s juvenile detention center, police said previously.
Anyone with information on the younger Cameron’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 615-742-7463.