American rapper Lil TJay shot multiple times in New Jersey

Los Angeles, June 23

American rapper Lil TJay was one of two people shot in New Jersey early Wednesday morning, just weeks after declaring it was going to be "a good summer." According to mypost.com, the Bronx-born rapper was struck multiple times at The Promenade in Edgewater. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said cops responded to reports of shots fired at the location just after midnight.

When they arrived, they discovered 21-year-old Lil TJay, whose real name is Tione Marriot, with multiple gunshot wounds. Antoine Boyd, 22, was also found with a single gunshot wound, officials said.

Both were transported to an area hospital for treatment.

Officials did not release their conditions, however tmz.com reported that Lil TJay underwent emergency surgery.

Officials said the shooting happened after Mohamed Konate tried to rob Lil TJay, Boyd and a third person the rapper was with, 24-year-old Jeffrey Valdez.

Both Valdez and Boyd each had an unlawful weapon on them at the time.

Konate was arrested later on Wednesday by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and the New York Police Department. His extradition to New Jersey is currently pending, officials said, reports nypost.com.

He's charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of armed robbery, two counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth-degree aggravated assault.

Boyd and Valdez were both charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and were being held at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack awaiting an initial hearing.

Lil Tjay is a Bronx-born rapper with over 7 million followers on Instagram. He rose to fame on Soundcloud and was signed by Columbia Records in 2018. His debut album, 'True 2 Myself' peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard 200.

In an Instagram post just two weeks before he was shot, the rapper posted a video of himself dancing shirtless with a big chain with the caption "dis gon be a good summer."

Fellow artistes and athletes offered their prayers for the wounded rapper.

"Pray for my lil bro lil Tjay," tweeted hip-hop star French Montana.

--IANS