A teenager has been charged with murder over the alleged killing of a Melbourne rapper who was gunned down in a western suburbs home.
Chris Habiyakare, 24, died after a group of alleged armed intruders broke into the Sunshine North home on August 24, 2021.
An 18-year-old Ascot Vale man was arrested in Docklands on Wednesday morning and charged with murder.
He will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court again on Thursday morning.
A 21-year-old Tarneit man and a 20-year-old Keilor Downs man were also arrested on Wednesday afternoon.
Both men have since been released from custody.
Two other men were arrested and charged with Habiyakare’s murder in November 2021.
The musician was at the Essex St address on August 24 with two male and three female friends, all believed to be aged in their 20s.
About 8.30pm Habiyakare answered a knock on the door from a group of men and a confrontation occurred.
The group forced their way inside the house allegedly armed with a range of weapons, including a firearm, police said.
The men and women visiting the house ran from the property, with one woman smashing a window to get out.
Police will allege a physical altercation took place with the armed group and Habiyakare was shot. He died at the scene.
The group then fled the property and the area in at least one vehicle.
Detective Inspector Tim Day said in November that it was a “targeted incident” but the exact motive for the shooting was still unknown.
“Police had attended the property on the morning of 21 August following reports of a physical altercation, and at this stage one of the lines of inquiry is determining if there are any links between this and the subsequent fatal shooting,” he said.
“At this stage this is only one but a very important line of inquiry for police.”
Inspector Day said Habiyakare was known to police and had a history of involvement with drugs.
“However, he was also much loved by his family and friends, all of whom are still grieving his loss and searching for answers as to why this has occurred,” he said.
“We need to speak to anyone who can shed light on the motive for the shooting and why Chris might have been targeted.”
