A Brooklyn judge has ordered a 17-year-old defendant held without bail after prosecutors expanded a gang indictment to include the fatal shooting of drill rapper Boe Quahh, born Quah’mir Cruz, in a case that prosecutors allege arose from an ongoing gang rivalry in Brownsville.
The defendant, whose identity remains confidential because he is a minor, was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors allege he shot the 18-year-old rapper on May 10 near Blake Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard before fleeing the scene.
According to the indictment, the murder charge was added to a broader prosecution targeting 22 alleged members of the Folk Nation street gang. Authorities contend the organization was responsible for dozens of shootings across Brooklyn, including the attack that killed Cruz.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch previously said the indictment encompasses “26 shootings that left 23 people victimized, including one person killed.”
Prosecutors also accuse the defendant of participating in a December 2025 shooting outside a Sweet 16 celebration. Six teenagers were injured. Investigators allege the shooting of Cruz followed escalating tensions involving rival groups and individuals connected to Brooklyn’s drill rap scene.
Teenage Arrested In Connection To Fatal Shooting Of Brooklyn Drill Rapper Boe Quahh In Brownsville
Cruz, who performed as Boe Quahh, was an emerging artist whose music included collaborations with fellow drill rapper Envy Spark. Prosecutors allege the defendant confronted Spark at Brooklyn Supreme Court weeks before Cruz’s killing. This was later referenced in a social media post.
Beyond his music career, Cruz worked in construction and participated in an anti-violence initiative at the Van Dyke Community Center. Family members and community leaders rejected suggestions that his drill music reflected his personal character.
“They got this concept of him being a drill rapper and being a negative person, but it’s not that,” said Cruz’s stepfather, Shaun Davis. He continued: “Drill rapping is a way of rapping. It’s not a lifestyle. It’s not him.”
Valerie Barton-Richardson, president and CEO of CAMBA, said Cruz actively sought to avoid the violence affecting his neighborhood.
“He would talk to us about his desire to not get ‘lost on the streets,’” Barton-Richardson said. “We are saddened beyond belief that our community, our city and our world will never get to see how brilliant his light would have shined in the decades to come.”
The homicide prosecution remains pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Prosecutors allege the evidence supports trying the defendant for Cruz’s killing as part of the broader gang conspiracy case. Defense counsel’s response to the amended indictment was not immediately available.
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