Rapper Shot in Drive-By Incident, No Arrests Made

A Florida rapper is recovering after he was shot and injured in a drive-by shooting earlier in November. Controversial rapper Foolio, whose real name is Charles Jones, was grazed by a bullet during a shootout in Jacksonville during the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 8. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The shooting reportedly occurred just after midnight outside a Riverside home where music was being recorded, according to an incident report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and as reported by First Coast News. Officers who arrived at the scene made contact with Foolio who told them he was shot at by “unknown suspects in a dark color truck or SUV.” Foolio said he grabbed two guns and returned fire during the incident. A neighbor told News4Jax, “we ran to check on our kids and ran to look out the window and we saw a car with its windshield shot out and several people running back and forth from the house next door to the car.” That neighbor said they were afraid for their lives.

Responding officers found four guns owned by Foolio, who also goes by Julio Foolio, along with a white t-shirt, 20 spent shell casings, and a possible AR-15 magazine lying in the street. The rapper was reportedly grazed in the ankle during the shooting, though he did not seek treatment at the hospital. A neighbor told News4Jax that they saw the musician “being escorted to the car because it seemed as if his leg or foot had been injured.”

Just hours after the shooting Foolio, whose 16-year-old brother Adrian Dennard Gainer Jr., aka Bibby, was shot to death in 2019, took to Instagram to address the incident. In a live video, the rapper confirmed that he “got grazed in the leg,” revealing minor wounds around his ankle. He added that he “shot back in self-defense. My gun is registered. If I did something illegal the police would put me in jail. A n— did miss 100 shoots though.” Foolio previously went live on Instagram following a shooting in Texas, which was mentioned in a rival gang’s viral music video “Who I Smoke,” in July 2020.

Neighbors told News4Jax that prior to the Nov. 8 shooting, they had made numerous complaints about suspicious activity at the home where the shooting occurred, though “they said those complaints have been being ignored.” The Sheriff Department’s calls for service show that officers responded to the home on two different occasions for noise complaints in January and March. At this time, no arrests have been made in connection to the Nov.8 shooting. The shooters face a possible attempted murder charge if apprehended.