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Rapper who performed during Arkansas shooting arrested

By Ben Hooper
Rapper Ricky Hampton was arrested in Birmingham, Ala., early Sunday after he performed Saturday at a Little Rock, Ark., nightclub where 25 people were injured by gunfire. Photo by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Rapper Ricky Hampton was arrested in Birmingham, Ala., early Sunday after he performed Saturday at a Little Rock, Ark., nightclub where 25 people were injured by gunfire. Photo by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

July 2 (UPI) -- Authorities confirmed the rapper performing during a potentially gang-related shooting at an Arkansas nightclub has been arrested on an unrelated charge.

Cliff LaBarge of the U.S. Marshals Service Northern District of Alabama said Ricky Hampton, who performs under the name Finese2Tymes, was arrested alongside Kentrell Gwynn early Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., by U.S. Marshals working in tandem with along with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI.

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Little Rock Police Department spokesman Steve Moore said Hampton was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Forrest City and was not related to the early Saturday shooting at Little Rock's Power Ultra Lounge, where 25 people were wounded by gunfire and three people were injured in other ways.

All of the victims are expected to survive, police said.

Moore said investigators in Little Rock are coordinating with Alabama authorities and will potentially send representatives to question Hampton.

"They need to speak to him" about the Little Rock shooting, Moore told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Hampton and Gwynn were arrested while reportedly driving to a Birmingham nightclub where Hampton was set to perform. They were booked into the Jefferson County jail at 3:42 a.m. on fugitive from justice warrants.

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The ATF seized two handguns and an AK-47 from the Mercedes the suspects were using early Sunday.

Hampton had issued a statement on his Facebook page after the shooting Saturday, expressing "condolences" for the victims.

"The violence is not for the club people," he wrote. "We all come with [one] motive at the end of the day. And that's to have fun. Not to be hurt."

No arrests have been made in the shooting, which police said may have been gang-related.

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