Brooklyn rapper fatally shot by stepson following disagreement over weed
43-year-old Brooklyn rapper, Sinthoro Upper, was fatally shot by his 16-year-old stepson during a disagreement over the teen smoking weed around the boy’s pregnant mother, the New York Post reported.
Police said the fatal April 12 incident occurred in NYCHA’s Walt Whitman Houses in Fort Greene. The suspect, identified as Tristan Hightower, fatally shot his stepfather, whose real name is Jamel Davis, with a gun that he went to take from his room.
Prior to his killing, Davis was said to be gradually making a name for himself, as his new song, Slidin, was gaining rotation on local radio stations. Award-winning rapper 50 Cent also used the song in an Instagram reel, the Daily News reported.
Authorities said that Hightower’s mother is three months pregnant, and she had initially texted her son to let him know that she was not in favor of him smoking in the apartment because of the health implications that it could have on her unborn child. Authorities said that was not the first time a dispute of such a nature had occurred.
Police also said that there was a verbal dispute after Hightower’s pregnant mother sent him the text, causing Davis to step in. But as the argument ensued, Hightower went for a gun that was inside a shoebox in his bedroom before he opened fire on his stepfather.
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Police said the victim was struck in the chest and arm, and he was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries.
“It’s devastating for the community because we were all rooting for him, and he finally got his shot, and now he was taken away,” a friend identified as Anthony Mabry told the Daily News.
“He is 43, and people were doubting him, people saying, ‘Pass the mic.’ But he stayed with it. And he was finally getting that taste — and it’s like, ‘You took it from him.’”
On Tuesday, police arrested Hightower in the Bronx. Prior to the April 12 incident, there were two previous domestic-incident reports regarding Hightower and his mother. Those incidents reportedly occurred in 2025 and at the home in question. The teen suspect’s mother had also reportedly told police about her son having access to a gun.
Hightower has since been charged with murder and criminal possession of a loaded firearm. It is now up to the court to determine if the 16-year-old suspect will be tried as a juvenile or an adult.
“He was doing the music so long, and they just put his music on the radio,” Mabry said. “He was grinding all of his life.
“God finally gave him his blessing within the month of this happening.”
