Rapper Lil Tjay of New York City, who was wounded shortly after midnight on Wednesday and required emergency surgery, has had a suspect in his attempted murder detained.
The rapper, whose true name is Tione Merritt, age 21, was allegedly shot by Mohamed Konate, 27, of New York City, who was then arrested, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office.
Antoine Boyd, 22, and Jeffrey Valdez, 24, both of the Bronx, who were with the rapper and allegedly had weapons when he was shot outside a retail center in Edgewater, were also detained by the New Jersey Police.
Police sources informed TMZ that although the Calling My Name hitmaker was recovering from emergency surgery, “he’s still not out of the woods yet.”
According to officials, there were two shooting locations: one was a Chipotle restaurant, and the other was an Exxon gas station nearby. The incident took place in Edgewater, close to the City Place Shopping Center.
Lil Tjay was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds when police arrived.
In the fight with Konate, Boyd was also shot, although officials said the wound wasn’t life-threatening.
Konate will be extradited to the New York Police Department after being charged with three charges of attempted murder, three counts of armed robbery, and a number of weapons and assault violations.
The teenage rapper has gained enormous popularity in recent years, amassing 7 million Instagram followers and releasing two studio albums under Columbia Records that peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Calling My Name, a single he released in 2021, landed on the Billboard Hot 100 at number three.
Lil Tjay has 4.65 million YouTube subscribers, and his most recent video, In My Head, has received more than 12 million views in just two months.