Brooklyn rapper accused of assisting in Troy Gill’s killing

CROWN HEIGHTS – Sheik Koureichi, 20, arrested on Monday and charged with second-degree murder in the February shooting of 13-year-old Troy Gill, is believed to be a drill-style rapper known as GBG Sheik, associated with the up-and-coming rap group 41 – whose members, as well as the artist himself, have sung extensively about his alleged getaway-driving skills.

Koureichi, from Brooklyn, stands accused of being present in a white Jeep Cherokee while a second, unnamed individual, also charged on Monday, allegedly fired at Gill as the boy returned home from a Nets game on the night of the 29th; he is additionally accused of reckless endangerment over a gunfire incident earlier in the night. Koureichi has faced several previous criminal charges, including an arrest for grand larceny in an auto theft case in Queens last month. A Facebook page for Koureichi identifies him as the rapper.

The Daily News reported in March that police believe Gill’s murder was committed as an act of revenge against the Drench Crew, a street gang Gill is believed to have recently become affiliated with, unknown to his parents. Earlier on the day of the shooting, a member of the rival Woo gang had allegedly been kidnapped, stripped naked and beaten on an Instagram stream by other Drench members. The Woo are a criminal group whose purpose Brooklyn D.A. Eric Gonzalez characterized in 2020 as being “to track rivals and to shoot at each other on sight on the streets of Brooklyn.” NYPD Chief of Detectives John Kenny said at a press conference at the time that police believed Woo members had targeted Gill in retaliation, though Gill had not been involved in the assault. After being shot, the middle-schooler managed to run from his attackers, calling his mother for help, but collapsed before emergency services were able to arrive, and could not be saved.

Fans identified the beaten man as Jah Woo, another rapper associated with the 41 rap group;…