A suspect in the murder of an 8-year-old girl was arrested on Monday at the rental home of Alex and Franky Venegas, also known as the Island Boys.
According to TMZ, a SWAT team raided the Coral Springs, Florida home on Monday morning and arrested 20-year-old Andrew James Thomas. He’s charged with first-degree murder in connection with a drive-by shooting that killed 8-year-old Ronziyah Atkins on Feb. 4 in Belle Glade, Florida, as she played outside.
Thomas is reportedly a childhood friend of the Venegas’, according to their manager. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that it was able to locate Thomas thanks to “cooperating witnesses.”
The Island Boys, who go by Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd, went viral on TikTok last fall for a freestyle rap. They were booed off stage in Miami in late November, and more recently pivoted to Cameo. Last month, Franky Venegas (Kodiyakredd) was accused of assault by his girlfriend, Montaisha. She posted photos of her bruises on Instagram, and claimed that Venegas was physically abusive throughout their relationship.
Alex Venegas was reportedly home when cops showed up on Monday. In response to the arrest, he told TMZ that “We gotta stop the gun violence,” and that he wants to try to help Atkins’ family, which has set up a GoFundMe for funeral services.
We reached out to the Island Boys for comment.
