Last updated on February 25th, 2025 at 09:15 am
21-year-old rapper Lil Tjay was shot after midnight in Edgewater, New Jersey on Wednesday. At the time of writing, the rapper is said to be in surgery. The extent of his injuries and his current condition have not been disclosed.
Why was Lil Tjay shot & who shot him?
Lil TJay was shot by Mohamed Konate in the wee hours of June 21, 2022.
Here’s how it happened… and why
According to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, cops responded to complaints of shots fired at The Promenade in Edgewater (New Jersey) shortly after midnight.
When the cops arrived, they discovered Lil TJay, real name Tione Marriot, 21, with several gunshot wounds.
According to officials, 22-year-old Antoine Boyd, one of the two people with the rapper, was also discovered with a single gunshot wound
Both were sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. Officials did not reveal their current conditions, but TMZ stated that Lil TJay had emergency surgery.
According to authorities, the incident occurred when Mohamed Konate attempted to rob Lil TJay, Boyd, and Jeffrey Valdez—who was also with the rapper.
Valdez and Boyd were both carrying illegal firearms at the time.
Later that day, officers from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the New York Police Department apprehended Konate.
His extradition to New Jersey is presently pending, according to officials.
Konate is being charged with three charges of attempted murder, three counts of armed robbery, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, and fourth-degree aggravated assault.
Boyd and Valdez were both charged with unauthorized weapon possession and have been remanded at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack pending an initial hearing.
A few hours before the incident, the rapper posted the following on his Instagram Story, “PSA. Just because you’ve been around a person doesn’t make you entitled to the fruits of that persons labor. Envy Is At An All Time High Be Safe Outchea.”
The incident occurred at the western end of City Place, a mixed-use building on a former Hudson River industrial site that includes retail and restaurants on the ground floor and five stories of high-end residences above.
Who is Lil Tjay
Lil Tjay (real name Tione Dalyan Merritt) was born on April 30, 2001, six months before 9/11, in the South Bronx, New York.
Tjay spent his early adolescence getting into fights and committing petty robberies, which landed him in a youth detention centre when he was 15 years old.
He began releasing music on SoundCloud after coming home in late 2017. Over the next year, he began to gain traction, with tracks like “Resume,” “Brothers,” “Leaked,” and “None of Your Love” receiving millions of plays.
Tjay rose to prominence with a scene-stealing guest appearance on Polo G’s blockbuster single, “Pop Out,” which peaked within the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list.
The rapper collaborated with Fivio Foreign and Kay Flock to release the lead track from his upcoming third studio album, Not In The Mood, on October 22.
Prior to its release, the song was teased utilizing TikTok clips starting in September.
Lil Tjay started previewing a new song called In My Head in early March 2022, which samples Iyaz’s Replay. On April 1st, 2022, it was finally released.
Merritt published a freestyle Lavish on his YouTube account on April 24. He revealed his EP, Strictly 4 My Fans, the next day.
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