Second teen arrested in killing of West Philly rapper, gang member YBC Dul

An 18-year-old has been charged with fatally shooting a local rapper and West Philadelphia gang leader — the second teen in two months to face charges in the high-profile killing.

Rashawn Williams was arrested Tuesday and charged with the murder of Abdul Vicks, the 25-year-old rapper affiliated with the West Philadelphia-based gang the Young Bag Chasers, or YBC.

Vicks, also known as YBC Dul or “Mr. Disrespectful,” was shot multiple times in a drive-by-style shooting in Olney on Aug. 23. Vicks had just picked up a friend and was driving down the 100 block of West Olney Avenue when a white car pulled up alongside him at a stoplight. At least two people fired multiple shots into Vicks’ car before speeding off, police said.

Vicks was struck multiple times in the chest and a hand. In a panic, his friend drove back to his house on North Sixth Street, and then, with the help of his uncle, rushed Vicks to Einstein Medical Center, where he died just before 4 p.m.

Williams’ arrest follows that of 16-year-old Aiden Waters, who was charged with killing Vicks and committing two additional shootings in North Philadelphia in early September. Waters and Williams are both members of Fastbreak, a previously little-known gang affiliated with the area around Fourth Street, Nedro Avenue, and Spencer Street in Olney, according to court records and a law enforcement source.

Law enforcement said it was not immediately clear why the teens targeted Vicks, who had made many enemies across the city due to the cruel lyrics of his songs, which often mocked people who had been killed or shot by his gang and others. Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said at an earlier news conference that Fastbreak was likely “looking for notoriety” — an increasing driver of shootings in recent years as drill rap music has grown in popularity.

The night Vicks was killed, police said they recovered the shooters’ getaway car on the 6900 block of North 15th Street. The car — which had been stolen in Cheltenham Township a week earlier — had been burned, but detectives recovered ballistic evidence inside, as well as a series of fingerprints along the doors, the affidavit says.

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Those fingerprints and bullet casings — as well as witness interviews, surveillance footage, and jail calls — ultimately led detectives to Waters and Williams.

Williams has also been charged with attempted murder, robbery of a motor vehicle, conspiracy, and related crimes. He is being held without bail at the Montgomery County prison.