Fabolous arrested after being shot

Fabolous, the rapper of African-American and Dominican descent from Brooklyn who became a mainstream star after his debut single ‘Can't Deny It’, landed himself in hot soup when a Manhattan parking lot gunfire early Tuesday left him injured and under arrest, after police found two loaded weapons in a car carrying him and his entourage.

Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Wysokowski informed that as soon as the rapper and his three friends left Justin's, a restaurant owned by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the wee hours of midnight; they were approached by a gunman who opened up firing.

Born as John Jackson, the rapper and his friends fled in a 2005 Dodge Magnum to escape from the shooting. They attracted police attention after skipping a red light and it was then that the officials discovered two semiautomatic pistols in the vehicle, both of which were apparently unlicensed, Wysokowski said.

Jackson, who was hurt on his right thigh after the whole incident, was rushed to a hospital and as soon as he was discharged, he was taken to the 13th Precinct station house, where his three companions were already being oppugned.

Although, all four accused refute the ownership of the weapon, urging that a gunman approached them as they left and began shooting in the parking lot outside, they have been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a defaced firearm, police said. Arrested on the same charges were Kevin Bass, 18, Percell German, 23, and Rascharm Davis, 29, all of Brooklyn.

However, Alberto Ebanks, Jackson’s lawyer, snubbed off the accusals on his client, claiming that Jackson did not own the Dodge Magnum, the car in which the guns were found. He said that Jackson and his friends went to the restaurant in a Cadillac Escalade, but jumped to the Magnum to safeguard themselves from the shootings outside the restaurant.

“If any car had pulled up and offered him a ride to a local emergency room, he would have jumped in,” Mr. Ebanks said. “He was in the back seat bleeding profusely.”

Mr. Ebanks said the Magnum is registered to Ghetto Fabolous Inc., Mr. Jackson’s production company.

“Mr. Fabolous is simply the victim of a crime,” Mr. Ebanks said, adding that Mr. Jackson did not have bitterness with anyone and it was still unclear whether he was the target of the shooting.

Spokesman for the restaurant, Andre Suite, said that Justin’s drew celebrity crowd on Monday nights to watch football games projected on television screens. He also informed that Jackson and his friends frequented the restaurant quite often.

Jackson gained popularity in the rap community for his smooth flow, crossover sensibilities, compound rhyme schemes, elaborate lyrics, and clever punch lines. His style has been often compared to that of Harlem rapper Murda Mase A.K.A. Ma$e.

He has also made guest appearances on tracks by many different artists including Tamia, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Don Omar, Christina Milian, Cassidy, Amerie, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, Lil Mo, Lloyd Banks, Benzino, B2K, P. Diddy, & Young Jeezy.