Dublin Police Search For Motive, Suspect In Rapper's Slaying

Pleasanton CA

30 November, 2020

3:37 PM

Description

DUBLIN, CA — The Dublin Police Department said Monday it is investigating all possible motives — including gang involvement — as it seeks to determine who shot and killed Bay Area rapper Alexander Mark Antonyyo, Jr., known as Lil Yase, early Saturday morning. His killer remains at large. Dublin police were called to Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton around 1 a.m. Saturday and arrived to find Antonyyo, 26, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was hospitalized at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he died. Police determined the crime scene was located on the 5100 block of Iron Horse Parkway, which is just a few minutes' walk from the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station. As Lil Yase, Antonyyo rapped about gun violence and involvement in gangs. He touted a firearm in his music video for "Big One," strumming it like a guitar. Police are reviewing "a large amount" of video collected from the area of the crime scene as investigators seek to determine a suspect and motive, said Dublin police Capt. Nate Schmidt in an email. Police are conducting interviews and reviewing evidence as they seek to determine why Antonyyo, of San Francisco, was in Dublin. "We are hoping that this video will answer many of the questions we have about the incident," he said. The public is still encouraged to contact police with any information that could assist the investigation, Schmidt said. Homicides are rare in Dublin, he said. This was the second homicide in Dublin this year and just the third since 2009. Tributes to Antonyyo continued to pour out on social media from fans and his record label, Highway 420. "We appreciate all the love and support. Yase loved his fans, he worked every day for y'all," the label shared on Instagram, along with a clip from the music video for his "Top Dog." Less than a day before Antonyyo's shooting, Highway 420 shared that new music was coming from the rapper. Fans called him a legend in Bay Area's rap scene. Read some of the tributes below: RIP Lil Yase. I met up with him in Sunnydale and interviewed him for my first ever FADER feature in 2016. At the time, he was doing something that felt completely new and different in Bay Area rap. https://t.co/B5bAWLpYkd— ben (@bendy_L) November 28, 2020 My cousin had a label maker I had to make a shirt before I left. REST IN PEACE LIL YASE !! pic.twitter.com/1PQ3zZXBZD— Boog DON DADA (@LifeOfBoog) November 28, 2020 Popular Bay Area rapper Lil Yase was killed earlier today. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends pic.twitter.com/dnrI9KyopS— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) November 29, 2020 Listening to nothing but lil yase today— MARGAUX (@x0fijii) November 28, 2020