Julio Foolio’s untimely death has local law enforcement officials on alert.
The Jacksonville-based rapper, born Charles Jones, was fatally shot in Tampa, Florida early Sunday morning while celebrating his 26th birthday.
Foolio’s festivities began at an Airbnb in the city but got shut down by local police over the number of attendees, News 4 Jax reports. The group eventually moved over to a nearby Holiday Inn, where Foolio was ambushed.
Tampa Police confirmed to Complex that they responded to a 911 call regarding a shooting at the hotel at 4:40 a.m. Upon their arrival, officers spotted two vehicles that had been shot at in the parking lot. The incident left Foolio dead and three other passengers were treated at a hospital for injuries.
The late rapper gained notoriety and criticism for rapping about his rivals in diss tracks such as “Beatbox Remix,” “When I See You,” and “List of Dead Opps.”
Yungeen Ace, 26, released a new song called “Do It” just hours after Foolio’s death. The two men had been in a heated feud since 2017.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told Action News Jax that his office will now be on alert for possible retaliatory shootings.
“Unfortunately, I think young people think this is a game,” he said during a press conference shared online. “They make it like it's a video game. It's not, this is real life. [Foolio] has a mother, you know, he has parents, siblings, probably friends and they have to deal with these kind of losses, and it's unfortunate.”
He continued, “We're not gonna tolerate any retribution, any revenge. We're gonna watch, we're gonna be around paying attention to what's going on, but it's unfortunate. It should never happen to our kids. And I've never seen so much devaluing of human life. You know, it's like it's fun and they talk about it in rap videos and songs, and it just doesn't make any sense.”
Waters also told young Jacksonville citizens to “stay away from the nonsense.”
“I've made several phone calls and discussions with the undersheriff and staff members about paying very close attention to certain groups that I know are clashing with one another—they know who they are,” he said. “We're not gonna allow you to just arbitrarily run around and spray bullets into people's houses and cars. It's just something that we're gonna pay very close attention to.”
“I want the public to be vigilant, pay attention when you see these things going on,” Sheriff Waters added. “The social media world is called ‘Meta’ for a reason. It's make-believe, it's not real life. Real life is what happened to Foolio yesterday. And that happens and it should not happen.”
No arrests have been made so far in connection to Julio Foolio’s murder.
