Irving Plaza victim's family upset over involvement in investigation; Concerts postponed

UNION SQUARE, Manhattan (WABC) -- It's been more than a week since Ronald McPhatter was shot and killed at Irving Plaza, with police arresting Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave and charging him with attempted murder. But McPhatter's family says he is not the one responsible for the shooting death and that they are being shut out of this investigation.

And they're not happy about it.

"We have never been treated like the family of a victim," brother Shanduke McPhatter said. "We are still being treated like criminals."

Shanduke McPhatter, whose brother was a security guard protecting Troy Ave, vented his frustration at the NYPD. He says he believes the shooter who killed his brother is still out there and that all his family wants from police is an update.

"We could just start with what happened," he said. "So we can have our own view to discuss, so my family can see how my brother died."

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said the department is making progress on the investigation and is determined to keep the family informed.

"Ronald McPhatter's mother was obviously distressed with us, his brother was as well," he said. "We are making entries to get them, to get more information from them. Anytime someone is murdered, that family has more information that is vital to our cases at any point."

An NYPD crime scene unit was still at the scene Thursday, after investigators say three guns were found hidden in Troy Ave's car.

"In that car, there is a trap, a purposely constructed hiding location within a car, this one under the console in the vehicle," Boyce said. "We got a search warrant, we came up with three guns. First is a .09-mm pistol Taurus, it was defaced so we cannot trace it back right now. It is loaded with 10 capacity rounds. Second gun is a stolen Charter Arms 38, fully loaded with five hollow-points in the gun. The last gun is a Kel Tec .09-mm, this is the homicide weapon that killed Mr. McPhatter. We still believe there is one gun used during the entire operation that shot four people, killing one."

Troy Ave, whose real name is Roland Collins, was also wounded in the shooting, and police believe he shot himself in the leg during a struggle. But his attorney says McPhatter died trying to protect Collins and that's cops have the wrong guy.

"Troy didn't shoot himself," attorney Scott Leemon said. "He didn't shoot his bodyguard. This is not him. He has no criminal record. He's a guy who works. He comes from a good family."

Meanwhile, Irving Plaza reopened its doors Wednesday night with concerts by Rod Stewart and Train. But entertainment company Live Nation has postponed six concerts at Irving Plaza and the nearby Gramercy Theatre, starting with a rap concert scheduled for Thursday at Irving Plaza, as it continues to evaluate its security.

"In light of last week's tragic events, we are acting with an overabundance of caution and coordinating a going-forward strategy with the New York Police Department that may also include a curfew," Live Nation spokesperson Jim Yeager said. "Because these discussions with the NYPD are ongoing, we will be postponing a few of our upcoming shows at Irving Plaza and the Gramercy."

Of the six concerts postponed, four feature rap artists. None have reschedule dates.

Thursday night's concert at Irving Plaza was to feature rapper Joey Badass, as part of this weekend's Governors Ball Music Festival. The rapper tweeted Wednesday that the concert was canceled and encouraged his fans to attend an event at a SoHo store instead.

Mac Miller's performance on Friday and Vince Staples' performance on Saturday are also postponed.

Troy Ave is being held without bail in connection with a fatal shooting at Irving Plaza May 25.