Last night's T.I. concert in Union Square ended before the rapper could even take the stage, as gunshots rang out in the venue's green room. Three people were injured and one victim was fatally wounded.
ABC News is reporting that rapper Troy Ave has been arrested for weapons possession and reckless endangerment. Ave was also injured during the shooting, though police say Ave may have accidentally shot himself. Ronald "Edgar" McPhatter, 33, was fatally shot in the stomach during the incident. McPhatter was a member of Ave's entourage, and according to a statement from his mother, McPhatter died while attempting to protect his friends. While McPhatter's mom initially stated that Ave and her son were close, the New York Daily News is now reporting that the NYPD consider Ave a suspect in McPhatter's muder, and that detectives are waiting on the results of a ballistics test to find out who fired the shot that took McPhatter's life.
The shooting started following a set by Maino, a Brooklyn rapper who reportedly had a heated rivalry with Troy Ave, who was also set to perform that night. An anonymous source speaking with The New York Daily News says the shooting began when Ave opened fire on Maino. Another man was injured when a bullet went through the floor and into the room below, and a young woman was also shot in the leg.
The police say they believe that T.I. had nothing to do with the incident. The Atlanta rapper had yet to perform and was not in the room at the time of the shooting. T.I. later made a post on social media, offering his condolences to the victims of the shooting.
By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation
