Patrick Clark, who is charged in the 2022 shooting death of the rapper Takeoff, is set to go to trial later this year. Court records indicate that Clark appeared this week at a pretrial hearing in Harris County. A judge scheduled the trial to begin on November 5. The case has moved slowly through the court system since the arrest.
Takeoff, whose legal name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, was killed on November 1, 2022, outside 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston. Authorities said gunfire broke out during an argument linked to a dice game. Investigators have described the rapper as an unintended victim caught in the exchange. A woman who was also struck survived her injuries.
Clark was taken into custody roughly a month after the shooting. Prosecutors have said surveillance footage played a central role in identifying him as a suspect. He has pleaded not guilty. After his arrest, he was released on a $1 million bond.
Grief, growth, and the road to justice
The shooting stunned the music community and left a visible mark on those closest to Takeoff. Offset, his cousin and fellow Migos member, addressed the loss on his solo album KIARI. On the song “Never Let Go,” featuring John Legend, he reflects on the grief in direct terms: “Play back all the memories, hopin’ they don’t fade / Bando to the jet, jet to the stage / Hard to see my na in that grave, this sht crazy / I’d give all this sht back just to get you back,” and “Can’t trust these nas, fck ’em, how I’m supposed to get over you? / Ain’t been the same, ’cause the pain fck up everything.”
Quavo, who was with Takeoff that night, has since focused on advocacy work. In 2023, he founded The Rocket Foundation, an organization aimed at addressing gun violence. He later met with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to discuss prevention efforts. Speaking to Variety in 2024, he said, “I felt like it’s a crisis that goes on everywhere, and me being a figure and a person who speaks to the youth, I feel like turning my tragedy into triumph.”
As the November trial date approaches, the case is likely to return to public view. For Takeoff’s family and collaborators, the legal process continues alongside private grief. The proceedings will determine the next phase in a case that has remained closely followed since 2022.
