Los Angeles-based television news station KTTV was first to report on the rapper’s alleged involvement. Later Thursday morning, Variety reported that an LAPD spokesperson told the publication that West had been named as a suspect, a detail the LAPD confirmed with Newsweek.
The incident allegedly involving West, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, occurred at about 3 a.m. local time on Thursday at South Santa Fe Avenue and Bay Street, according to the LAPD official.
The location of the alleged battery incident is near Soho Warehouse, a members club and hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
The LAPD told Newsweek on Thursday morning it was unable to provide any information about the nature of the incident or of West’s alleged involvement.
“All the information we’re providing is that he’s a named suspect in a battery report,” the LAPD official said.
KTTV reported that no arrests had been made in connection with the incident and that West was not at the scene at the time authorities arrived. Police were investigating the incident as a misdemeanor battery, according to the station.
Video taken during the alleged incident was reportedly shared with authorities by another individual involved, but police were not publicly releasing the footage as of Thursday morning, according to the station.
Newsweek reached out to West’s team for comment and will update this article with any response.
Reports of Los Angeles police naming West as a battery suspect came the day after he was announced as one of the headliners of this year’s Coachella festival. The music and arts festival, which is in California’s Coachella Valley, is slated to take place over two weekends in April following cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
West is expected to perform on the festival’s two Sunday dates of April 17 and 24, while fellow headliners Harry Styles and Billie Eilish will perform on the Friday and Saturday dates, respectively.
In addition to his anticipated Coachella performances this spring, West recently gained attention for his reported intention to schedule performances in Russia and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this year. While one of West’s advisers detailed some of those plans to Billboard earlier this week, another representative for West disputed the plans when asked for clarification by Rolling Stone.
Update 01/13/22, 3:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and background.
