Two people in New Jersey are facing charges for allegedly assaulting and shooting a popular TikTok star on a beach where he was filming and posting videos just hours before.
Chrystofer Whyte, 18, can be seen in his final TikTok post, recording a selfie video on a beach in Long Branch on June 12, before being shot and killed there later that evening just before 9 p.m., according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Whyte was on a beach between the shoreline and Pier Village’s boardwalk when suspects Dwayne Exilus, 18, of Woodbridge, and a minor who cannot be identified due to his age, allegedly opened fire on him. An outdoor music concert had just concluded at Pier Village, resulting in scores of people being caught in the crossfire.
The juvenile suspect allegedly shot Whyte several times, and Exilus is said to have missed. It is unclear what the motivation was, with friends citing alleged feuds with local kids caught on TikTok Live videos “antagonizing” Whyte and “calling him names” in the comments, according to Patch.
Police and prosecutors have not said what prompted Exilus and the underage boy to shoot Whyte, or what happened before the bullets flew.
“I think this whole situation was about egos,” said Whyte’s friend, 19-year-old Jaiden Roche, who started a GoFundMe for Whyte’s family and spoke with Patch and police about the alleged TikTok beef last month.
“They saw his TikTok post and ended up coming to the beach,” Roche said, adding that he was present and allegedly witnessed everything. “They came to the beach knowing they would start problems,” Roche told Patch. “He told these kids, ‘Let us fight.'” I suppose these kids had more than just a fight in mind.
Whyte was found fatally shot on the Long Branch boardwalk the night he died. Patch and other media outlets reported that the teen was well-known locally for his football and wrestling skills at Woodbridge High School. He had over 90,000 TikTok followers when he died.
“It was just to have a good day at the beach with his friends,” Roche told me. “He was doing TikTok full time and he was making a good living with it, too.”
Prosecutors have charged Exilus and the underage suspect with multiple crimes in connection with Whyte’s death, including murder and conspiracy to commit unlawful possession of a weapon.
Exilus is also charged with conspiracy to commit unlawful possession of a weapon, as well as unlawful possession and hindering. Monmouth County announced the charges Monday.
