On Friday, a jury in Los Angeles found Canadian rapper Tory Lanez guilty of all three charges against him in connection with the shooting of rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the foot in July 2020. The charges included felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm.
Lanez faces a potential sentence of more than 22 years in prison, which will be determined at his sentencing on January 27. In the wake of the verdict, several members of Lanez’s family, including his father and stepmother, have reportedly called the jurors “evil.”
The trial, which lasted two weeks, featured testimony from a number of witnesses, including Megan Thee Stallion herself, who pointed the finger at Lanez as the shooter. Megan testified that she saw Lanez with a gun and that he fired at her from his Cadillac Escalade, shouting “Dance, bitch!” She also claimed that Lanez offered her $1 million to keep quiet about the incident.
The defense attempted to shift the blame to Megan’s ex-friend Kelsey, suggesting that she might have shot Megan due to alleged infidelity with Lanez and other men. However, Kelsey testified that she was not the shooter, although she did not implicate Lanez either.
The physical evidence in the case was somewhat inconclusive, with gun residue found on both Kelsey and Lanez and inconclusive DNA evidence on the gun itself. Lanez did not testify in his own defense, nor did his driver on the night of the shooting.
As Lanez awaits sentencing, the public remains divided on the verdict, with many taking sides on social media and traditional media. It remains to be seen how this outcome will affect the careers and reputations of both Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion.
