Questions still abound after Offset was shot outside a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida.
At the time of this writing, the exact circumstances of the incident remained unclear, though a spokesperson for the Kiari artist said he was “stable and being closely monitored” as of Monday night (April 6).
Below, we take a closer look at what’s known about the situation so far, including some clarity on Monday night’s arrest of Lil Tjay, who was initially said by his lawyer to have been made the subject of “false rumors” of involvement with the shooting.
Offset shot in Florida
“We can confirm Offset was shot and is currently at the hospital receiving medical care,” a spokesperson associated with Offset told Complex on Monday (April 6). “He is stable and being closely monitored.”
According to a report from TMZ, the Migos alum was shot near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in the Hollywood area of Florida. The report also included a statement attributed to a Seminole Police Department rep who did not directly name Offset. Per that statement, the incident occurred “at a valet area” on Monday evening, resulting in “non-life-threatening injuries” to an unspecified party.
Complex has reached out to the Seminole Police Department for comment, as well as to reps for Offset.
Quavo seemingly responds to news
Fellow Migos alum Quavo appeared to address Offset being shot in Florida in an Instagram Stories update shared on Monday night. In the post, Quavo included the prayer hands emoji, though he did not directly mention Offset or the incident.
In 2022, Takeoff, also a member of the Grammy-nominated Migos trio, was fatally shot in Houston, Texas.
Lil Tjay arrested in Florida, but lawyer says he was not involved with shooting
Dawn M. Florio, an attorney for Lil Tjay, later released a statement addressing what she said were “false rumors” of her client being involved in the shooting..
“We are issuing this release in regards to false rumors that Lil Tjay was involved in a shooting which occurred at the Valet Area of the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood which [resulted] in non-life threatening injuries to Offset, formerly a member of Migos,” Florio said. “Lil Tjay has not been shot, nor has Lil Tjay been charged with any shooting. Any reporting to the contrary is false. We encourage people to consult trusted news sources, and to verify the accuracy of any reporting, before reflexively sharing or repeating baseless rumors.”
Per Broward County jail records, Tjay was arrested in Florida for misdemeanor disorderly conduct on Monday. When reached for comment on Tuesday (April 7), a Seminole Police Department rep said that Tjay’s charge was “in connection with the incident that took place Monday night at a valet area outside of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.”
The rep confirmed the nature of the charge, disorderly conduct — affray (a first-degree misdemeanor), and said that a second person had also been detained.
“One person has been charged in connection with the incident that took place Monday night at a valet area outside of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood,” the rep told Complex. “Tione Jayden Merritt (DOB 4/30/2001) has been charged with disorderly conduct — affray, a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute 870.01. The incident began with an affray, or fight. Merritt was booked into the Broward County Jail late last night. A second person detained at the scene has not been charged. The investigation to identify one or more additional persons involved in the incident is ongoing. The injured individual remains at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., with a non-life threatening injury.”
Offset photographed having a smoke outside hospital after shooting
As questions continued to swirl about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, TMZ shared a report stating that Offset had been photographed outside a Florida hospital enjoying a cigarette, hospital gown and all.
Lil Tjay claims that Offset told bystanders that Tjay was the one who shot him
Following his release from jail, Lil Tjay accused Offset of falsely stating that Tjay was the triggerman in the shooting that left him hospitalized.
“The last thing I see was Offset looking at me like this: ‘Yo, that n***a shot me, that n***a shot me!’” he told reporters. “N***a is a rat, n***a. … I didn’t do no damn fighting. Did I shoot? That shit is crazy. I will smack the shit out of Offset. He would never play like that with me in his life. Ask Offset.”
Lil Tjay’s lawyer, Dawn Florio, has insisted that Tjay was not involved with the shooting.
“As far as I’m aware, there’s no charges related to shooting Offset,” Florio told Complex. “There’s video everywhere — there’s no video that shows that Tjay is involved in any of this.”
