Julio Foolio has been killed after, in the words of his attorney, being “basically ambushed” in the wake of an event celebrating his 26th birthday.
In a statement to News 4 Jax, attorney Lewis Fusco said that the rising Jacksonville rapper had hosted a birthday party at an Airbnb in Tampa on Saturday (June 22), which was shut down due to the number of people in attendance.
Foolio, born Charles Jones, took to his Instagram Stories hours before his death, and told followers that the party had been cut short by police officers who also “kicked them out” of the rental property.
News 4 Jax reports that several social media posts had advertised the location of the party.
Upon leaving the Airbnb, Fusco says that Foolio got a room at a nearby Holiday Inn, which is where he was killed.
According to Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA, local police confirmed that the shooting took place around 4:40 a.m. on Sunday morning (June 23), in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn located on the corner of Fowler Avenue and McKinley Drive.
“What we have learned, and this is early in the investigation, two cars were shot at,” Tampa Police Department public information officer Joneé Lewis told the station.
In a press release, Lewis later wrote: “The victim in this morning’s shooting is believed to be Charles Jones. Positive identification is pending confirmation from the Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Three other individuals were taken to an area hospital with gunshot wounds, but are expected to survive their injuries.
This is the fourth time Julio Foolio was the target of a shooting in as many years.
Most recently, the rapper was shot at in the early hours of October 7, 2023. According to WTLV-TV, sources said his black Dodge Challenger was riddled with bullets and he was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were said to be “severe.”
Follio reportedly didn’t cooperate with law enforcement regarding the shooting. However, a gruesome photo of what appears to be his foot with a bloody hole in the middle arch went viral online within days of the incident.
Julio’s family initially addressed the shooting on his Instagram Story, writing: “Keep Foolio, my son, in y’all prayers he was shot last night in his hating city.”
They later followed up with a positive update on his condition, sharing a photo of the rapper in hospital along with the caption: “Yall know he good,”
He was also the victim of gun violence back in 2021 when he claimed he dodged 100 shots by the grace of God.
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“On treyd I got right in slides emptyed my whole clip u boys goofies I’m not dead so stop fakin for the internet,” Foolio defiantly bragged on social media at the time.
“I shot back in self-defense,” he added. “My gun is registered. If I did something illegal, the police would put me in jail. A n-gga did miss 100 shoots though. They must have thought I was lackin’ for sure.”
He was also shot in 2020 when traveling around Houston and the near-fatal exchange was turned into lyrics by his rival Yungeen Ace as part of his Vanessa Carlton-sampling “Who I Smoke.”
HipHopDX extends its condolences to Julio Foolio’s family and loved ones.
