Rising Florida rapper Julio Foolio was shot dead at age 26 during his birthday celebration in Tampa during an "ambush" style attack outside of a Holiday Inn.
The untimely death of the up-and-coming rapper, who impressively amassed over a million followers on Instagram, was confirmed by his attorney, Lewis Fusco.
Foolio, whose real name is Charles Jones, celebrated his 26th birthday at an AirBNB with a small group of friends before they had to change locations and check into a Holiday Inn, where he was "ambushed" by an unnamed armed gunman in the parking lot of the hotel.
Tampa Police responded to a 911 call regarding a shooting at 11606 McKinley Drive at approximately 4:40 am.
According to the police report, one person was killed and three others injured in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn.
"The victim in this morning's shooting is believed to be Charles Jones," Tampa Police Public Information Officer Jonee' Lewis wrote in a press release. "Positive identification is pending confirmation from the Medical Examiner's Office."
Foolio shared several videos and stories with his Instagram followers throughout the night, documenting the birthday celebration.
In one story, he brought up the cops showing up and shutting down the party at the AirBNB. However, the party continued late into the night at another location.
Just hours before he was killed, Foolio shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he expressed how excited he was to see where another year would take him.
"God, thank you for allowing me to see another Year & To celebrate another birthday," he wrote on X. "Appreciate all the birthday wishes so far."
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This wasn't Foolio's first experience being shot at.
The rising Jacksonville rapper has been a target of numerous shootings in recent years. The most recent shooting occurred just eight months ago in October 2023 in another "ambush" style attack. However, he was able to escape that situation unscathed.
Before that, he was injured in another Florida shooting on November 8, 2021.