There was a shooting in a South Florida neighborhood in which a young man was shot multiple times and seriously hurt. But it wasn’t Jackboy.
Police confirmed to The Times that the rapper was not the victim of the “targeted” shooting early Wednesday, although it did happen in his neighborhood. Earlier unverified online reports had named him as the injured man. Police have not yet identified the victim of the shooting.
As the reports circulated, Jackboy, whose legal name is Pierre Delince, took to Instagram Live, showing he was unhurt.
The stream showed the 26-year-old rapping and dancing to Young Dolph’s song “100 Shots,” according to XXL, which recorded and shared portions of the broadcast. Jackboy is seen outside a car, lifting his shirt to flash his unscathed torso. As he slides into the passenger seat, he smiles and bobs his head to the music. A friend in the driver’s seat can be heard shouting, “Critical what?” — a likely reference to reports that listed the rapper in critical condition.
Around 7 a.m. Wednesday, police arrived at a home in the Town Park at Tradition gated community in Port St. Lucie, Fla., after a caller reported a shooting, police spokesperson Sgt. Dominick Mesiti told The Times. Officers arrived to find a young male adult with multiple gunshot wounds, who was then airlifted to a nearby hospital in serious condition, Mesiti said.
“We believe it was a targeted shooting, and we do not believe there is a further threat to the community,” Mesiti said. He declined to comment on a possible motive in the incident. Police said the victim was in the driveway of his home when the gunman approached and shot him several times.
Security camera footage showed the shooter leave in a blue 2018 Kia Optima, and police began their search, Mesiti added.
During the search, unverified reports from hip-hop blogs began to surface claiming that Jackboy, a former artist of Kodak Black’s label, was the victim of the early-morning shooting.
After Jackboy appeared on the Instagram stream, other unverified reports claimed that the victim was actually Jackboy’s brother.
Police told The Times that Jackboy was not the victim in the shooting but declined to comment on the victim’s relation to Jackboy. Mesiti confirmed, however, that the shooting took place in the neighborhood where the rapper lives.
Neither Jackboy nor his representatives immediately responded to The Times’ requests for comment.
By Wednesday afternoon, deputies with the nearby Broward County Sheriff’s Office found the Kia in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., with several people inside, Mesiti continued. The individuals were detained, and detectives with Port St. Lucie police questioned them. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon.
Over the last year, Jackboy has faced legal issues including a misdemeanor trespassing charge in St. Lucie County tied to an alleged domestic violence incident involving his former girlfriend and fellow artist Lexis Berrios, known as Lexxstasy, according to court records. A judge granted Berrios a restraining order in October, records show.
