A jury has reached a verdict Friday in the case against Tory Lanez in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, a trial that has spawned hashtags on social media and diss tracks by some of the key figures in the case.
He has been found guilty and faces up to 22 years in prison. The Canadian rapper was charged with assault with a firearm, negligent discharge of a firearm, and possessing a concealed and unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
A jury has convicted Tory Lanez of all three charges for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. A crazy and downright scary scene in the courtroom as his father and stepmother screamed about wicks injustice.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 23, 2022
and
#BREAKING: District Attorney George Gascón announced that Daystar Peterson, the rap artist known as Tory Lanez, was convicted of assault today in the 2020 shooting and wounding of former female friend Megan Pete in the Hollywood Hills.#LACounty #LADAOffice
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/ntcl7nYCbH
— George Gascón (@LADAOffice) December 23, 2022
The Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion accused Lanez of shooting her in the foot after the pair left a party at Kylie Jenner’s home in 2020. Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, pleaded not guilty to shooting her and dedicated an entire album to rebutting Megan Thee Stallion’s version of events.
He was originally charged with assault with a semi-automatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Prosecutors added a third charge, discharging a firearm with gross negligence, earlier this month. Lanez faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison. He may also be deported to his home nation of Canada after serving his sentence.
The case originated in July 2020, when police stopped an SUV carrying the pair and two others in the Hollywood Hills. Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, testified that she initially told police that she cut her feet on glass when asked about why she was bleeding.
She was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai where doctors found bullet fragments in her foot, which required surgery to remove.
“I couldn’t walk for a while,” she testified. “I still have nerve damage. I can’t really feel the side of my left foot. The back of my feet are always sore, but I just push through it.”
She publicly stated on her Instagram weeks after the incident that she had been shot and eventually identified Lanez as the shooter. She later took aim at him in the song “Shots Fired.”
In her testimony, Megan Thee Stallion said Lanez offered her $1 million to keep quiet about the shooting.
In an interview with Gayle King in April, prior to the trial, Megan Thee Stallion explained that she initially lied to police because she feared getting into a more dangerous situation.
“You think I’m about to tell the police that we … us Black people got a gun in the car?” she asked. “You want me to tell the law that we got a gun in the car so they can shoot all of us up?”
Lanez declined to testify in his defense. His attorneys had called Sean Kelly, a witness who lived in the area, to tell the court that he had been woken up by two women fighting the night of shooting.
Kelly testified that he did see two women fighting, according to Variety, but then said he saw what appeared to be multiple gunshots come from a man who was “firing everywhere.”
Twitter reaction:
Tory Lanez found GUILTY on all charges in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. pic.twitter.com/IAgIRmei8S
— NUFF (@nuffsaidny) December 23, 2022
and
GUILTYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! TORY YOUR DONE! LOCK HIS ASS UP! #WeStandWithMegan #torylaneztrial pic.twitter.com/gOpNJzvfWH
— Emancipation of Ron ?? (@rontheestallion) December 23, 2022
and
Damn Tory Lanez took his son to court all them times for no damn reason LOOOL thats tuff
— . (@ThatNig99) December 23, 2022
and
Damn Tory actually did it huh… pic.twitter.com/3lkxUE0ZU9
— Preachin (@Preachin_Szn) December 23, 2022
and
All them weapons sure enough prospered, now you going to jail and hell Daystar!!
— Tittygate 2022 (@jiggyjayy2) December 23, 2022
and
They’re snatching off his frontal and empty his pockets of black beard spray at the prison gates. Happy fucking holidays, Daystar!
— Tom Cruise’s Shoe Lifts (@platformedboots) December 23, 2022
and
GUILTY. That visa is REVOKED, baby. He ain't stepping foot on US soil NO MORE. Deportation is waiting for you at the door, Daystar! #ToryLanezTrial pic.twitter.com/FGYymrCPSV
— St. Elix ?? (@ShaolinByNature) December 23, 2022
Comment below!
