French Montana Might Get Sued Over the Miami Shooting That Injured 10 People While Filming a Music Video
In early January 2023, hit-making rapper French Montana was reportedly filming a music video at a restaurant in Miami when shots rang out on the set, leaving several people injured. In response to the shooting, some of those injured are preparing to sue French Montana for damages.
There was a shooting at a French Montana video shoot in Miami
The incident took place the night of January 5 at The Licking restaurant in Miami Gardens. French Montana was eating with a group of friends when at least 10 people were injured in a shooting, according to statements from the restaurant and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
“Our hearts are heavy and go out to the victims of this senseless act,” The Licking said in a statement to CNN.
“We were not aware of a video being filmed and found out last min[ute] French Montana was shooting a scene in the back parking lot. We have no idea what actually took place,” the statement continued. “The Licking restaurant has nothing to do with the incident and has given police the necessary footage requested.”
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue reported that emergency services were quickly sent to the scene after receiving word of the incident.
“Upon arrival, fire units found several patients suffering traumatic injuries. In addition to finding injured patients at the initial location, firefighters also encountered other injured patients outside of a fire station nearby,” MDFR said.
“Fire crews immediately began triage to assess the extent of the patients’ injuries and for transport to the hospital,” the statement continued. “As a result of the incident, a total of 10 patients were injured. Four of the patients self-transported to local area hospitals. MDFR transported the remaining 6 patients by ground and air rescue to local trauma centers.”
French Montana might get sued because of the shooting
Now, it appears that some of the shooting victims are preparing to bring a lawsuit regarding the incident. Blogger Carl Leon was invited to the music video shoot and subsequently shot and injured, leading him to hire an attorney and share his plans with NBC Miami.
“Sometime during the break of one of the scenes, that’s when he heard gunshots. He didn’t know what happened, like everyone else. He took off running. As he’s running, he fell at some point,” Leon’s attorney Josiah Graham said. “When he gets up, he discovers he’s been shot.” Nine other people, including rapper Rob49, were also injured in the shooting.
“Just literally less than an inch away from sure death,” Graham added.
Leon is recovering at home after undergoing surgeries and is reportedly looking for justice through a lawsuit. Graham said they’re looking for more witnesses and victims to get involved with the case, and they plan to pursue any and all legal options.
Wilmark Baez, a witness at the incident, lent his car and two dogs to French Montana‘s production team for the music video. His dog went missing and was eventually recovered, but he still hasn’t gotten his car back. “My car is still impounded. Still don’t know how much I owe,” Baez said. “I never got paid for the music video because everyone scrambled.”
The production also failed to obtain the necessary permits for a music video shoot, according to police. If the right local agencies were notified of their plans ahead of time, officers would have been on the scene to protect everyone involved with the production. “One of the biggest deterrents to crime is a police presence or some type of security infrastructure, but certainly with police officers,” Graham said.
French Montana’s response to the shooting
The day after the shooting, on the release day of his new mixtape Coke Boys 6, French Montana expressed his thoughts about the incident on Twitter.
“Last night, I was in Miami celebrating the release of my CB6 mixtape with friends at a local restaurant,” the “Unforgettable” rapper wrote. “We unfortunately were at the wrong place, at the wrong time when an incident took place that left people hurt. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families at this time.”
