Florida Rapper Shot Dead At Birthday Party

Florida rapper Julio Foolio has been shot dead during his birthday celebrations in Tampa.

Police said four people were hit with gunfire in a hotel car park early on Sunday. One person died, whom they believed to be Foolio pending a medical examination.

The 26-year-old victim, whose legal name was Charles Jones, was identified in a statement by a law firm that represented him.

The musician was “reportedly ambushed” in the hotel car park, Lewis Fusco said in a statement, quoted by a local media.

He had been forced to relocate after being asked by authorities to leave an Airbnb property when he and his guests exceeded occupancy limits.

The rapper had been posting material to his Instagram account about the celebrations, writing that police had “shut us down”.

“Two cars were hit in the shooting that took place at about 04:40 EDT (09:40 BST),” police said. The three others who were injured were taken to hospital, where their condition was described as stable.

Foolio has nearly a million monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top-played track is Voo Doo.

As recently as April, he wrote in an Instagram post that recent months had been “tragic”, citing “multiple attempts on my life”.

Police have urged the public to provide any information that may help them with their investigation.