US rapper A$AP Rocky is set to face trial for allegedly pulling a gun on a former friend twice and firing at him, as ruled by a Los Angeles court on Monday.
The 35-year-old, known for having two children with R&B star Rihanna, is facing prosecution on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, charges he denies.
The court learned that Terell Ephron, a founding member of the A$AP collective, sustained minor injuries after a confrontation in Hollywood in November 2021. Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli, stated in a hearing last week that the friendship between the two men had deteriorated.
He accused A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, of abandoning other members of the group founded in 2008, leading to poverty and drug use among them.
Following the death of a group member, the two men clashed in an incident partially captured on surveillance camera.
Ephron said Mayers pulled a gun and thrust it towards his stomach, saying “I’ll kill you right now.”
In a later altercation, Ephron said he told his former friend he had “failed everybody” but that nobody was brave enough to tell him.
“I just wanted him to hear my side,” Ephron said, adding that Mayers had then shot at him, with the bullet grazing his left hand.
Mayers, currently free on bail, has been ordered to be arraigned on January 8.
