| Feud Behind Ja Rule Club Shooting?
Ja Rule's holiday party was anything but--and police suspect the rapper's troubled label might be the reason.
The NYPD is trying to determine whether a rap feud involving The Inc. may have led to a fatal shooting early Monday outside the Rule-related party at Manhattan's LQ nightclub.
According to police, an unidentified man wearing a yellow jacket left the club and waited outside for William Clark and Troy Moore to exit. When they came out at about 3:30 a.m., the assailant opened fire, hitting both men. Despite taking bullets to the chest and buttocks, the 39-year-old Clark managed to drive himself to a police station. Police got him to a hospital, but he died later Monday.
Moore, 37, remained hospitalized in serious condition Wednesday, but he's expected to survive.
Both victims had a criminal past, according to the New York Daily News, each serving stints in prison. Police have not officially commented on a motive, however, the Associated Press quotes unidentified law enforcement sources as saying the shooting may be linked to The Inc. The label home to Ja Rule and Ashanti, which changed its name this year from Murder Inc. as part of an image makeover, is embroiled in several criminal investigations.
Moore is the brother of Tyran "Tah Tah" Moore, who is jailed in New York while awaiting sentencing on a federal weapons charge. Tah Tah Moore is an associate of The Inc. boss Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and crack lord Kenneth McGriff, who is accused of using the label to launder drug money and is in prison on an unrelated conviction.
Tah Tah Moore and McGriff were also fingered by 50 Cent as possible trigger men behind the infamous 1999 shooting that left the rap star with nine bullet holes in his body. Both Fiddy and his mentor, Eminem, have openly feuded with Ja Rule and his crew.
It's not known if Rule was actually at the event at the time of the shooting; the rapper's reps could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
According to reports, more than 300 guests were at the event at the time of the shooting, including Fat Albert star Kenan Thompson.
The shooter, still at large, is said to be an African-American male in his twenties.
Police have recovered a gun from the crime scene and are looking over footage from security cameras outside the Latin club.
This is the second shooting at an event for the rapper this month.
At an after-party for Rule's gig at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, a man allegedly tossed a drink at the hip-hopper, triggering a massive melee in which a man was shot.
Although not implicated in any of the shootings or alleged Inc. shenanigans, Rule has not proved impervious to trouble. He is set to stand trial in Toronto early next year or an alleged assault at a nightclub last summer. He has pleaded innocent to the charge. In July, he spent some quality time behind bars in New York after getting busted for driving without a license and marijuana possession. The pot count against the Queens-born emcee was eventually dropped after he shelled out $550 in fines and court fees.
His latest release, R.U.L.E., dropped in November and moved 165,000 copies to debut at seven on the Billboard 200, a career low for the rapper.
- E! Online | |
