A week before rapper Troy Ave was shot while sitting in his prized Maserati on Christmas day, he showed off the $140K sports car on social media.
In one photo on his Instagram.com page, Ave posed next to the candy apple red car with his young son. Father and son wore matching red bubble jackets and expensive sneakers.
The shooting occurred at the corner of East 91st Street and Linden Blvd in Canarsie at around 4:20 pm on Christmas day. Ave, 34, and his girlfriend were sitting in his convertible when a gunman approached and opened fire — blowing out the driver side window.
Ave, whose real name is Roland Collins, was shot in the arm. A bullet grazed his head. His girlfriend was unharmed.
He drove aimlessly for a few blocks before abandoning the Maserati, which was still facing the wrong direction in the westbound lane of Linden Blvd at 8 pm, The NY Post reports.
A passing motorist took the bleeding rap artist to Brookdale Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
When a NY Post reporter asked him how he was doing, the bandaged up rapper replied, “Shot in the head, man”.
Later, Ave was visited in the hospital by fellow New York MC 50 Cent, who posted an Instagram photo of himself at Ave’s bedside. “Dope boy Troy all good. Merry Christmas,” 50 wrote in the photo caption.
Ave is no stranger to violent gunplay.
He made headlines earlier this year when he was involved in a deadly shooting at a T.I. rap concert at Irving Plaza in NY. Surveillance footage from the club showed Ave firing randomly in the VIP area backstage after he was shot in the leg by an unknown assailant. His bodyguard, Ronald McPhatter, was shot and killed during the melee.
Ave was arrested at a hospital where he had gone for treatment of his leg wound. He was hit with felony weapons possession charges. He later pleaded not guilty, saying he opened fire inside an occupied dwelling in self defense.
After Sunday’s shooting, Ave’s lawyer, Scott E. Leemon, released a statement to the media.
“Tonight, Troy Ave was targeted again,” he wrote, “on Christmas, in Brooklyn, going to meet his family for the holiday, he was shot two times. Thankfully, he will survive the second attempt on his life.”
Lemon added, “As we have said from the beginning — he is a victim. We pray for his speedy recovery.”
