FBI joins investigation into rapper Offset’s shooting at Seminole Hard Rock
The FBI joined the investigation into last week’s shooting of Offset outside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood. The rapper was hospitalized for a few days.
The FBI released a statement on Tuesday saying investigators are looking for a matte gray Chevy Tahoe and a black Chevy Suburban. The large SUVs were seen leaving the Guitar Hotel after the shooting on Monday, April 6, shortly before 7:30 p.m.
Offset, 34, whose name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The Associated Press reported Friday that he had been released from the hospital.
READ MORE: After rapper Offset’s shooting at Guitar Hotel, police arrest Lil Tjay
“Offset has been released from the hospital and he is up and walking,” a representative for Offset told The AP. “We’re incredibly grateful to the doctors, nurses, and the entire hospital staff who took such great care of him.”
Offset was shot during a fight between a group of men with him and another group in the valet area of the Oculus entrance of the hotel, according to an arrest report for another rapper, Lil Tjay, born Tione Jayden Merritt.
Police say Merritt, 24, directed his group to fight Offset’s entourage when one man opened fire.
READ MORE: Lil Tjay directed friends to attack Offset before shooting, arrest report says
While Offset’s friends tended to him, Merritt ran up to them and began throwing punches, the report states. Seminole Police Department officers arrived and broke up the fight, according to the report. Members of Lil Tjay’s group also tried unsuccessfully to steal Offset’s watch, said FBI spokesman Willie Creech.
Members of Lil Tjay’s group then left in the SUVs. The Suburban was seen heading toward Hollywood, and the Tahoe drove south toward Miami-Dade County, Creech said. Lil Tjay stayed at the hotel, where he was taken into custody, according to his arrest report.
The FBI released photos of the vehicles and the men agents are seeking on Tuesday.
Seminole police arrested Lil Tjay, a New York-based hip-hop artist with more than 8 million followers on Instagram, on a charge of disorderly conduct, and he was released from jail last Tuesday after posting a $500 bond.
Offset came to fame about a decade ago as a member of the Georgia-based hip-hop group Migos. He has three children with Bronx rapper Cardi B, his ex-wife.
Another member of Migos, known as Takeoff, was shot and killed outside a downtown Houston bowling alley in November 2022.
The FBI said it is involved in the Offset case because the shooting happened on federally recognized Native American land.
The FBI is asking anyone with information about the SUVs or the men agents are trying to find to call at 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov.
