Rapper Lil Uzi Vert was mistakenly identified as a puppy thief in a Pennsylvania police bulletin. The mix-up occurred when the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department shared a Facebook post on August 31, featuring Lil Uzi Vert’s photo, in an attempt to alert the public about a puppy theft from a local pet store.
Shortly afterward, the police realized their error and replaced the rapper’s image with that of a different individual sporting face tattoos. The actual suspect is accused of taking a puppy from Brookside Pups.
During the brief period that Lil Uzi Vert’s image was mistakenly associated with the crime, social media users inundated the Facebook post with comments about the Philadelphia artist.
Brookside Pups, in communication with TMZ, revealed that the alleged puppy thief had Lil Uzi Vert’s face as his profile picture on a social media account, which they promptly shared with the police.
Blaming the pet store for the mix-up, the police removed Lil Uzi Vert’s photo once they realized the face tattoos did not match those of the actual suspect.
In response to the incident, Roc Nation issued a statement expressing their displeasure with the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department’s actions. They emphasized the potential damage to Lil Uzi Vert’s reputation and highlighted the broader issue of wrongful charges against Black men by police departments nationwide. Roc Nation expressed hope for the safe and swift recovery of the kidnapped puppy.