In what the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office described as an attempted robbery on the rapper and two of his pals, New York rapper Lil Tjay was shot after midnight on Wednesday, June 22.
According to a press release from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the shooting happened at shopping center 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.
Officers discovered another victim of the same age with a single gunshot wound at a different place, an Exxon Station. Both were sent 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 offenses, 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.
Prosecutors had said earlier that one victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was by then described as stable, while the other victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and is in “good” condition.
TMZ reported that Merritt underwent emergency surgery, citing law enforcement sources.
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. Destined 2 Win featured the single “Calling My Phone,” Lil Tjay’s collaboration with 6lack, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his highest-charting song to date.