Singer Tory Lanez was found guilty by a jury on Friday (Picture: AP)
Tory Lanez has been found guilty of shooting rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
The courtroom descended into chaos following the verdict on Friday, after a Los Angeles jury found rapper Lanez guilty of three felonies in the 2020 shooting of the WAP performer, born Megan Pete.
The Savage rapper, 27, suggested that her friend at the time, Lanez, 30, shot her in both feet in July 2020 after leaving a party in Los Angeles.
The shooting left her wounded and she needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office previously announced in a statement that Lanez pleaded not guilty.
Lanez, who was wearing a pink suit, reportedly showed no visible reaction when the verdict was read before he was put in handcuffs and led away to jail.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for one day before convicting the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, real name Daystar Peterson, of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Megan Thee Stallion testified in court (Picture: Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Jurors agreed that there were aggravating factors in the attack, meaning Lanez – who made the decision not to take the stand during the trial – could face up to 22 years in prison and deportation with his sentencing scheduled for January 27.
After the jury was escorted out, Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, shouted, as per Associated Press reports: ‘This wicked system stands judged before God almighty!’
Peterson then pointed to the two prosecutors and yelled, as deputies descended on him: ‘You two are evil, wicked people. You know exactly what you did.’
Lanez decided not to take the stand during the trial (Picture: ShotbyNYP / BACKGRID)
According to AP, deputies wrestled Peterson from the courtroom, where he shouted in the hallway. Lanez’s stepmother was also tearful before she began shouting along with her husband while others in the audience shouted agreement, and one woman shouted ‘we love you Tory’ as he was led away.
Supporters of both rappers gathered outside the courthouse for most of the trial and crowded the courtroom and the hallway.
Pete testified during the trial that Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to ‘dance’ as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding in the Hollywood Hills, following a dispute.
The trial began earlier this month on December 12 and saw Pete break down in tears as she told the court in an emotional testimony: ‘I wish he had just shot and killed me.’
Lanez’s lawyer George Mgdesyan alleged in his closing argument that the shots were actually fired by former-friend Kelsey Harris in a jealous fight over Lanez, saying he tried to stop the shooting. He argued Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by pinning the shooting on Lanez.
Harris denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun.
Mgdesyan said: ‘Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case from the beginning. She lied under oath here.’
After the verdict, while Lanez’s lawyers left without commenting, Pete’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, said ‘the jury got it right and added he was ‘thankful there is justice for Meg’.
District Attorney George Gascón praised Pete, saying she showed ‘incredible courage and vulnerability’ with her testimony, adding she ‘faced unjust and despicable scrutiny that no woman should ever face’.
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He faces more than 20 years in prison.
