Rapper Arrested After Altercation Outside Bronx Court Building

A rising Bronx drill rapper was recently arrested following a shooting in a court parking lot. Dougie B, whose real name is Arion Howard, was taken into police custody on March 31 outside of the Bronx County Hall of Justice after shots were fired in the courthouse’s parking lot. The rapper’s arrest came as he was due in Bronx Supreme Court for a 2:15 p.m. court appearance for an unrelated drug case.

Although details of the altercation remain unclear, the New York Daily News reported the incident took place just before 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 31 in the E. 161st St. parking lot of Bronx Supreme Court just as attorneys and other court employees prepared to go on lunch break. A single shot was reportedly fired. It is unclear what led to the gunfire, though the New York Post, citing local police, reported that authorities believe there was some sort of car collision. A gray car with its doors flung open was reportedly present at the scene, and the shooting reportedly occurred after a group of men began arguing with each other, with one group chasing the other before a man wearing black pulled a gun and fired a shot.

A witness told the New York Post a “group of guys were arguing and all of a sudden I heard a gunshot. So crazy because right in front of the Bronx Supreme Court? What did they think was going to happen? They weren’t getting away.”

Following the gunfire, court officers immediately responded to the scene, with more than a dozen officers surrounding the men allegedly involved in the conflict. At least two court officers had their guns drawn. Dougie B and three other men were arrested, with video of the arrests captured on video and later shared to social media. As he sat in the street in handcuffs, the musician reportedly said, “Y’all keep doing this to me, bro.” No injuries were reported in the Thursday shooting and no charges were immediately filed.

The rapper’s arrest came just a day after he filmed a music video with Cardi B. HipHopDX reported the two filmed the music video or an upcoming remix of Kay Flock’s “Shake It” in their native borough of the Bronx. Kay Flock is currently jailed on murder charges. The rapper turned himself in to police in December and was charged with murder and with criminal possession of a weapon after he was accused of murdering 24-year-old Oscar Hernandez outside of a barbershop in Harlem earlier that month.