Rapper Foolio, born Charles Jones, was reportedly shot and killed during his 26th birthday celebration early Sunday morning in Tampa, Florida.
According to his attorney, Lewis Fusco, Foolio was “ambushed” in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn hotel. Preliminary reports indicate that Foolio was celebrating his birthday, which was actually on Friday, with a pool party at an Airbnb, as documented on his Instagram Stories. When police shut down the initial party, it relocated to the Holiday Inn, where the tragic incident occurred.
Unverified footage circulating online shows the crime scene, including the car Foolio was in during the shooting. Investigators believe the victims were at the hotel trying to get a room when the shooting occurred.
“All we know at this point is around 4:40 this morning, we received a 911 call about a shooting in a parking lot on McKinley & Fowler. Two cars were shot at, and four people were shot in total. Three were transported to hospitals, and one was pronounced deceased at the scene,” said Joneé Lewis, public information officer for the Tampa Police Department. The deceased person is believed to be Charles Jones, 26, though the medical examiner has yet to confirm the identification.
Lewis stated that officers are reviewing surveillance footage to gather more information and are assisting hotel guests around the crime scene. No arrests have been made, and authorities are seeking additional video to identify potential suspects.
Foolio, born June 21, 1998, rose to fame in 2018 with his hit single “Coming Up” and was closely affiliated with the hip-hop collective KTA. Despite legal issues and previous shooting incidents, he amassed a significant following, with over 900,000 Instagram followers and around 604,000 YouTube subscribers.
