Superstar Pride, a popular Mississippi rapper, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. According to a July 20 WREG report, Pride allegedly shot and killed 40-year-old Marcus Wheatley. 

Earlier this week, the Panola County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at approximately 12:30 p.m. Upon their arrival, they found Wheatley deceased at the scene with a visible gunshot wound. Following an investigation, Panola investigators determined Cadarrius Pride – also known as 21-year-old Superstar Pride – as the primary suspect in the shooting. T

he shooting occurred at a home on Highway 35 North.

Wheatley’s grandma, Mary Ann Strong, witnessed the shooting. She recalled that Pride entered Wheatley’s home and chased him down with a gun in hand. She told the outlet that her grandson was Pride’s barber. She described Wheatley as “a real soft-hearted person, who did whatever he could to help anybody. He was a really nice person.” 

“And the young man was shooting at him, and he finally shot him down.”

Strong, hauntingly, pointed out what happened next. She said, “He [Wheatley] fell here, and he [Pride] shot about three times after he fell, and he walked over to me, and he pointed the gun at me and asked if I was going to tell it. And he came back out here and fired a last shot in his head.”

Strong told the outlet that she believes Pride shot her grandson because he didn’t want to be in one of Pride’s music videos taking place in California. “He wanted Marcus to follow him, and he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t help him make no more money,” Strong said. 

Panola County authorities are holding Pride in custody without bond before his subsequent court appearances, despite his willingly surrendering to authorities.

Pride is well known for his song “Painting Pictures,” which went viral on Billboard charts and TikTok. From Batesville, Mississippi, Superstar Pride’s fans are live on Twitter, trying to process the news amidst the murder allegations.