San Francisco police arrested a Hayward man on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of Richmond rapper Kunal.
Lamont Williams, 49, was taken into custody in Hayward and booked into San Francisco County Jail No. 1 on a murder charge.
The arrest came nearly two weeks after Kunal was shot and killed just after 2 a.m. on February 9 on Harrison Street in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood.
The shooting occurred hours after the Super Bowl. Police found Kunal on the side of the road with a gunshot wound and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Kunal, 31, is a Solano County resident who has a following in Richmond’s hip-hop scene.
He has gained recognition through his music and interviews, including a 2018 appearance on Thizzler TV, where he discussed his experience facing police violence and his vision to bring unity to Bay Area music.
“I just wanted to show it in a different way,” Kunal said in an interview with Tizler. “I’m just trying to lead the way for me and T Mack and some other guys.”
The rapper spoke of how his brother’s 13-year prison sentence at a young age changed his perspective on life and inspired him to pursue music as an alternative to life on the streets.
Conor hopes to inspire young people in Richmond to transcend their surroundings and create something bigger.
The rapper’s death adds to a particularly violent start to 2026 for San Francisco.
In the first seven weeks of this year, there were six homicides in the city, compared with just one in the same period last year. For a city that saw a record low in homicides in 2025, the increase represents a significant increase in violent crime.
Police have not released details about the events leading up to the shooting or whether Williams and Kunal knew each other. The investigation is ongoing.
