FILE - Lil Baby poses in the press room at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. One person was shot and critically wounded at a concert headlined by rapper Lil Baby in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday night, Sept. 7, 2023, police and local media said.(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Republished September 08, 2023 - 12:03 PM
Original Publication Date September 08, 2023 - 12:06 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — One person was shot and wounded at a Memphis concert headlined by rapper Lil Baby in what was believed to be a premeditated, targeted shooting, police said.
The Memphis Police Department posted on social media that officers responded to a report of a shooting late Thursday at FedExForum. The 19,000-seat arena is home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis men’s basketball team.
A male victim was taken to a hospital and was no longer in critical condition Friday, according to police, who said no other injuries were reported.
Police said they were working to identify and find the shooter. They did not yet know how the shooter managed to bring a gun into the arena, which contracts with a private security company to screen people for weapons.
Lil Baby was rushed off the stage when shots were fired, WREG-TV reported. Police said the concert was canceled and the building was evacuated.
“I heard a pop,” Clarissa Johnson, who attended the concert, told WREG. “I’m not sure what happened but I had a suite, so I told all my crew, ‘get down.’ So we evacuated. Once we evacuated, did a head count. I’m still not sure what happened."
A representative for the rapper did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for more information.
Lil Baby posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday afternoon, “Unfortunately I Couldn’t Perform Last Night In Memphis , Ima Make Sure Everybody Gets A Refund Tho” with an emoji showing two hands making a heart symbol.
News from © The Associated Press, 2023