Rapper 50 Cent's Entourage Tied To Shooting
September 10, 2003, 11:36 AM EDT
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Authorities were investigating gunfire at a hotel attributed to the entourage of rapper 50 Cent, who was checking in early Tuesday, police said.
No injuries were reported, but some property was damaged, Sgt. Edgar Martinez said Wednesday.
According to a police report obtained by newspapers, the rapper and several members of his entourage drove away in several large sport utility vehicles after the shots were heard.
Investigators recovered nine spent shells in the parking lot area _ three .45-caliber and six .40-caliber, police said.
Police Chief Ronald Buonocore was to discuss the investigation at an afternoon news conference.
"He wants to prosecute the people who were responsible," Martinez said. "We do have a video that we're looking at right now."
Neither 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, nor his attorney, Robert Kalina of New York, could immediately be reached for comment.
Ron Simoncini, a spokesman for DoubleTree Club Suites Hotel, said it was against hotel policy to comment on guests. Simoncini said he was aware of the shooting in the parking and that police are investigating it.
50 Cent, 27, who often wears a bulletproof vest, has been shot nine times and stabbed. Born to a teenage mother who dealt drugs and was killed when he was 8, he started dealing drugs before he was a teenager.
His debut album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin,"' sold 872,000 copies in just four days after its release in February. His concert tour has remained in the country's top 20.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press