Rapper Lil Tjay suffered multiple gunshot wounds, officials say; suspect arrested
Several charges have been filed against the man who allegedly shot rapper Lil Tjay in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials in New Jersey have charged him with attempted murder, robbery, and weapons charges.
Mohammed Konate, 27, allegedly attempted to rob the rapper and two others, according to a press release from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, just after midnight, the Edgewater Police Department received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired at 14 Promenade, a shopping center in Edgewater that houses a Chipotle restaurant.
Officers on the scene reported finding multiple gunshot wounds on 21-year-old Lil Tjay, and a single gunshot wound on 22-year-old Antoine Boyd. Officials say that a third person with them, Jeffrey Valdez, 24, was in possession of an unlawful weapon at the time along with Boyd.
Tjay underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday at a hospital where he was treated by Tjay, real name Tione Merritt.
Despite the lack of an update on the victim’s health, BCPO’s follow-up tweet on Wednesday said that one victim, presumably Lil Tjay, was “upgraded from critical to stable condition” and the other “admitted to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries” is “in good condition.”
According to BCPO’s Wednesday statement, detectives from the BCPO worked with the New York Police Department to arrest Konate on Wednesday and he is expected to be extradited to New Jersey soon.
Among the charges against Konate are three counts of attempted murder, three counts of armed robbery, a charge of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon, a charge of certain persons not to possess a firearm, and a charge of fourth-degree aggravated assault.
A Bergen County Jail holds Valdez and Boyd pending their initial hearing in Hackensack, N.J., where they are charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Columbia Records signed Lil Tjay after he broke out on SoundCloud in 2018, according to the Post. In October 2019, he released his debut album, “True 2 Myself,” which reached the top five on the U.S. album chart.
Over 7 million followers follow the artist on Instagram, while 4.9 million follow on TikTok.
Watch Rapper Lil Tjay Shooting CCTV Video
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