Suspect, 27, is arrested for attempted murder of rapper Lil Tjay
Suspect, 27, has been arrested for attempted murder as rapper Lil Tjay undergoes emergency surgery after being shot in a botched robbery in New Jersey
- Mohamed Konate, 27, of New York City, was taken into custody on Wednesday
- Konate allegedly shot the 21-year-old rapper, whose real name is Tione Merritt
- Police also arrested Jeffrey Valdez, 24, and Antoine Boyd, 22, both from the Bronx
- The shooting took place outside a mall in Edgewater, New Jersey
A suspect has been arrested for the attempted murder of New York rapper Lil Tjay, who was shot just after midnight on Wednesday and underwent emergency surgery.
The Bergen County prosecutor’s office said Mohamed Konate, 27, of New York City, was arrested after allegedly shooting the 21-year-old rapper, whose real name is Tione Merritt.
New Jersey police also arrested Jeffrey Valdez, 24, and Antoine Boyd, 22, both from the Bronx, who were with the rapper and allegedly armed when he was shot outside an Edgewater mall.
Law enforcement sources told: TMZ the Calling My Name hit-maker had emergency surgery and is recovering, “but he’s still not out of the woods yet.”
Rapper Tione Merritt, 21, better known as Lil Tjay, was gunned down just after midnight on Wednesday in Edgewater, New Jersey.
Officials said the shooting happened near the City Place Shopping Center, and a suspect, Mohamed Konate, 27, of New York City, has been arrested
New Jersey police also arrested Jeffrey Valdez, 24, and Antoine Boyd, 22, both of the Bronx, who were with the rapper. Boyd was also shot in the incident
Officials said the shooting happened near the City Place Shopping Center, in Edgewater, and there were two shooting locations — one took place at a Chipotle Restaurant and the other at a neighboring Exxon gas station.
When officers arrived, they found Lil Tjay with multiple gunshot wounds.
Boyd was also shot in the encounter with Konate, but officials said the injury was not life-threatening.
Konate was charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of armed robbery and a range of weapons and violent crimes and will be extradited to the New York Police Department.
Konate was charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of armed robbery and a slew of weapons and crimes
Lil Tjay was reportedly out of surgery and recovering from the gunshots
The young rapper has exploded in recent years, reaching 7 million followers on Instagram and releasing two studio albums with Columbia Records that reached the Top 5 of the Billboard 200.
His 2021 song, Calling My Name, debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lil Tjay also has 4.65 million subscribers on YouTube, and his youngest son, In My Head, reached more than 12 million views in two months.
Lil Tjay pictured at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2020
The rapper pictured in the photo attending RapCaviar Presents James Harden & Friends in August 2021