Cops arrested a teenager for allegedly gunning down an aspiring rapper in the Bronx over what the victim’s mother claims was jealousy stemming from his budding career.
“His music was about to take off and people were jealous,” said Renee Nelson, the 43-year-old mother of victim Antione Strong. “He trusted the wrong people.”
Carlos Veras, 19, was cuffed on charges including murder and criminal possession of a weapon for gunning down Strong on College Avenue near E. 170th Street on May 31, cops said.
Veras was with two accomplices when he walked up to Strong and put a bullet in his gut at 9:55 p.m., according to police.
Paramedics rushed Strong to Lincoln Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, cops said.
He had been rapping since he was 11 years old, but his mother said it wasn’t until this year that his music career took off and he began working with a music producer.
Strong graduated from the Urban Dove Academy high school for older kids who have fallen behind, but his music was anything but peaceful.
His lyrics glorified life in the streets and the type of gun violence that would ultimately claim his life, according to Nelson.
“He supported gun violence. That’s what sells nowadays,” she said. “This generation is crazy.”
Strong has two older brothers and a younger sister, who have helped their mother deal with the devastation of losing a child, she said.
“I am coping with the loss only because he had siblings,” said Nelson. “I just want the killer to know that he destroyed the whole family.”