Rapper Beanie Sigel Shot Outside His New Jersey Home

Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel was shot after an apparent fight outside a Jersey Shore home, police tell NBC10. His attorney believes the rapper was not the intended target.

The shooting happened around 9:20 a.m. Friday outside the home where he lives along the 800 block of Spruce Avenue in Pleasantville, New Jersey, police said.

"From the first appearance, it would appear that there was some sort of altercation next to that property," Pleasantville Police Chief Jose Ruiz said.

 

Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, was hit in the stomach by a bullet that traveled out his back, police said. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery, Sigel's attorney, Fortunato Perri, Jr., told NBC10.

Sigel remains sedated and in critical condition following that procedure, officials said.

Perri, Jr. said the 40-year-old rapper had just returned home from dropping his kids off at school when he came upon the fight near his house. The attorney said it appears Sigel was an unintended victim in the shooting.

"The whole thing is a tragedy," a cousin of Sigel's wife said. She refused to give her name. "It's just very sad and I just ask that everybody keep our family in prayer and that he pulls through."

Another victim, 22-year-old Umar Salahuddin, was injured in the altercation, but was not shot, police said. He is being questioned by detectives, but has not been cooperative, according to authorities. His family owns the home where the shooting took place.

A gray car riddled with bullet holes that has been linked to the shooting was found two blocks from the scene, police said. They took a man in for questioning after he jumped out of the gray car. The driver of the car fled as they grabbed the other man, police said.

Police were also searching for a Honda minivan in connection with the shooting. They found that van -- empty -- just before 8 p.m. Friday at Washington and Hampton aves.

Sigel was released from federal prison in August after serving a two-year sentence for tax evasion. The Internal Revenue Service said he owed more than $728,000 in back taxes.

He was moved to a halfway house in Philadelphia after his release and then was transitioned into home monitoring. His probation ends on Saturday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The rapper was wearing a monitoring bracelet on his ankle at the time of the shooting, police said.

In 2013, Sigel was also sentenced to six to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Sigel was formerly signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records before the two rappers broke ties following a public fight. He had three albums that reached the top five on the Billboard charts.

He had a concert dubbed "Beanie Sigel: The Return" scheduled for Dec. 18 at the Theater of the Living Arts on South Street.

This isn't the first time Sigel was shot. He was hit in the arm during a 2006 shooting in Philadelphia.

NBC10's Ted Greenberg contributed to this report.