Several injured near the filming of a video by rapper French Montana

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Gunfire broke out near where rapper French Montana was filming a music video Thursday night, injuring several people in a South Florida parking lot. He was not hurt.

Several witnesses told reporters that the 38-year-old rapper was included in the video and that he was unharmed. His publicist did not respond to emails seeking comment Friday, and police have not confirmed his presence.

It was not immediately clear how many people were shot at around 8 p.m. Thursday, but a law enforcement source was quoted in the Miami Herald as saying as many as 10 people were injured. The shooting took place outside The Licking, a soul restaurant in a strip mall on the Miami Gardens Strip.

Miami Gardens Police Chief Dilma Noel Pratt said investigators are investigating reports that a video was recorded at the restaurant.

“We believe this is an isolated incident,” said Noel Pratt.

Miami Gardens police spokeswoman Diana George told reporters she could not confirm reports that as many as 10 people were injured, saying “At this time only a few casualties have been injured.”

She added that the condition of the injured is unknown, but no one was killed.

She said that a large crowd had gathered outside the restaurant at the time of the shooting.

The police department did not return repeated calls Friday for an update. A Friday restaurant employee said no one was available to discuss the shooting. A sign on the door says “No firearms or weapons allowed on this property”.

Miami rapper CED Mogul told reporters that the shooting occurred after someone stole a Rolex watch and car keys. He said the video was supposed to be filmed at a nearby KFC, but was moved after an argument. The city’s police chief told reporters that the producers of the video did not have the necessary permits.

French Montana was shot in the head and seriously injured in 2003 when two gunmen opened fire outside a New York recording studio. One of the gunmen accidentally shot the other, killing him.

French Montana, who was born in Morocco and whose real name is Karim Kharbouch, is best known for his 2017 album Jungle Rules and his first single “Don’t Forget,” which hit the top ten on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

Miami Gardens Mall is located on a major six-lane highway and is two miles south of Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, six Super Bowls, the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and the Miami Open tennis tournament. The city of 115,000 residents has the worst homicide rate in the state, according to FBI statistics, with one violent death per 4,400 residents in 2019, the latest year available.

A trader in the commercial sector said on Friday that he was working late Thursday in a back room when he and his partner heard a loud noise. He thought it was a car backfire, but his partner thought it might have been a shooting. About five minutes later, the police and paramedics started arriving and looked outside and saw the chaos.

“Most of the shootings here are personal, not random,” said the shopkeeper. He asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. It is mostly a matter of greed or money. »

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Farrington reported from Tallahassee, Florida.