Rapper Known as Julio Foolio Is Fatally Shot in Florida
The rapper known as Julio Foolio was killed in a shooting in a hotel parking lot in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, during a weekend of birthday celebrations, which included events that he had announced on his social media accounts. Three other people were wounded in the shooting, according to the police.
Lewis Fusco, a representative for Julio Foolio, whose real name is Charles Jones, confirmed that he had been fatally shot.
Mr. Jones, 26, had been staying in an Airbnb but was asked to leave because his party had exceeded occupancy limits, Mr. Fusco, with the Jacksonville, Fla.,-based Fusco Law Group, said in a statement emailed on Monday. Mr. Jones later went to a Holiday Inn hotel and was shot in a parking lot.
The Tampa Police Department said in a statement on Sunday that it received a 911 call that day at about 4:40 a.m. reporting a shooting at 11606 McKinley Drive. The police said they found two vehicles that had been fired on.
The three wounded people were taken to the hospital and were in stable condition, the police said.
Mr. Jones, who has 1.1. million followers on Instagram and nearly one million monthly listeners on Spotify, had written on his Instagram account on June 14 that his “air bnb pool party” would be on June 21, and he invited people to direct message him for the address. His official birthday party, he wrote, would be the next day at Teasers, an adult entertainment club. Some of the comments below the post had predicted that there would be violence.
Mr. Jones had previously written about surviving attacks and of getting shot in the foot. In January, he wrote on Instagram that there had been five attempts on his life. The New York Times has not verified these attacks.
The police said that they were investigating the shooting and were working to identify those involved. By Monday morning, there was no further information about any arrests or motive.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Department said on Monday that it could not release any information because the case was an active criminal investigation.