Shots were fired at the Moroccan-born rapper's tour bus on Thursday, February 28 outside a hotel in Philadelphia.
- Mar 2, 2013
AceShowbiz - Two men were hit by bullets after a gunman opened fire on a crowd near French Montana's tour bus, parked at a Penn's Landing hotel on February 28. Jowann King, a 28-year-old New Yorker, was struck in the abdomen and was dead at Hahnemann University Hospital while the second victim, a 28-year-old man, was shot in the shoulder and is currently in stable condition.
The sudden incident happened around 11:30 P.M. outside the Holiday Inn Express on the 100 block of North Christopher Columbus Boulevard. It occurred soon after Montana, whose real name is Karim Kharbouch, had just completed a show at the Theatre of Living Arts.
"A large crowd of fans, as well as some of Montana's entourage, were loitering and just hanging out on Christopher Columbus Boulevard when according to some of the witnesses a car drove by and opened fire," said Philadelphia Police Department's Chief Inspector Scott Small. Police also said that French Montana and his friend, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, were not harmed in the shooting as they were still on the tour bus when it happened.
Regarding a series of shooting incidents involving hip-hop artists, the "Pop That" rapper denied that this situation could also be one of them. He said, "I don't know, it was just fans. It was fans. Something happened outside my bus, but it didn't have nothing to do with me." Even so, he expressed his condolence sincerely, "My deepest thoughts and sympathies go out to the families of the victims, as well as all of those who were affected."
Police are still investigating the case as the intended target of the shooting is still unknown. After being questioned, Montana and his crew were released and they can move to their scheduled play at Brighton Music Hall in Boston on Friday night as part of the tour promoting his upcoming album "Excuse My French".
