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Rapper Lil Tjay was shot multiple times in New Jersey, officials say.
In what the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office described as an attempted robbery against the rapper and two of his friends, New York rapper Lil Tjay was shot after midnight on Wednesday, June 22.
Lil Tjay rose to prominence in 2018 with his track “Resume.” The rapper has released four EPs and albums, including F.N. and True 2 Myself in 2019, State of Emergency in 2020, and Destined 2 Win in 2021.
The single “Calling My Phone,” a Lil Tjay and 6lack joint effort from the album Destined 2 Win, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his highest-charting song to date.
According to a press release from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the shooting happened at shopping centre 14 The Promenade in Edgewater.
When the Edgewater Police Department arrived at the address in response to a 911 call at 12:08 a.m. ET, they discovered a 22-year-old victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
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Officers discovered another victim of the same age with a single gunshot wound at a different location, an Exxon Station. Both were taken to a hospital for medical attention.
Prosecutors announced the arrest of Mohamed Konate, 27, of New York City, on charges of attempted murder, armed robbery, and weapons offences, accusing the man of firing at the rapper, whose real name is Tione Merritt, as well as Jeffrey Valdez, 24, and Antoine Boyd, 22, both of the Bronx, who were with him.
Tjay was struck multiple times in the maelstrom, which also injured Boyd, Prosecutors said Wednesday night.
While the other victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and is in “good” condition, prosecutors earlier claimed that one victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was by that time described as stable.
TMZ reported that Merritt underwent emergency surgery, citing law enforcement sources.