MIAMI GARDEN, Florida –
Multiple people were injured in a shooting after a brawl outside a restaurant in South Florida, which witnesses said occurred during the making of a rap music video.
Several witnesses told reporters that the video featured 38-year-old French rapper Montana and that he was not injured. His publisher did not respond to an email seeking comment and police did not confirm his presence.
It’s unclear how many people were hit by bullets around 8 p.m. Thursday, but the Miami Herald, citing a law enforcement source, said up to 10 people were injured in a shooting outside The Licking, a fast-food restaurant. soul food service in Miami Gardens. strip mall.
Miami Gardens Sheriff Delma Noel-Pratt said investigators were looking into reports that a music video was being filmed at the restaurant.
“We believe it was an isolated incident,” Noel-Pratt said.
Miami Gardens police spokeswoman Diana Gourgue told reporters she could not confirm reports that up to 10 people had been injured, saying that “at the moment there are only more victims injured.”
She said the condition of the injured was unknown, but there were no deaths.
She said a large crowd had gathered outside the restaurant at the time of the shooting.
The police department did not return repeated calls Friday seeking updates. An employee at the restaurant on Friday said no one was available to discuss the shooting. A sign on the door reads “No guns or weapons allowed on this property.”
Miami rapper CED Mogul told reporters the shooting happened after someone stole a Rolex watch and car keys. He said the video was supposed to be filmed at a nearby KFC restaurant, but was removed after an altercation. Sheriff Noel-Pratt told reporters that the video producers did not receive the necessary permits.
French Montana was shot in the head and seriously wounded in 2003 when two gunmen opened fire outside a recording studio in New York City. One of the gunmen accidentally shot and killed the other.
French Montana, born in Morocco and real name Karim Kharbouch, is best known for his 2017 album “Jungle Rules” and the lead single “Unforgettable”, which reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
The strip mall in Miami Gardens is on a six-lane main highway and 2 miles south of Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, six Super Bowls, the Miami Formula One race. Grand Prix and the Miami Open tennis tournament. This city of 115,000 residents has the highest homicide rate in the state, with one violent death for every 4,400 residents in 2019, the last year available, according to FBI statistics.
A mall store owner said Friday that he was working late Thursday in the back room when he and his business partner heard loud sounds. He thought it was a car shooting backwards, but his partner thought it might have been a gunshot. About five minutes later, the police and paramedics started arriving and they looked outside and saw chaos.
“Most of the shootings around here are personal, not random,” the store owner said. He asked not to use his name, for fear of punishment. “Mostly it’s about greed or money.”
Farrington reported from Tallahassee, Florida.
