Rapper Julio Foolio Was Shot and Killed in Florida While Celebrating His Birthday

Up-and-coming rapper Julio Foolio has died at the young age of 26. According to WTSP-TV, the musician, whose real name was Charles Jones, was involved in a shooting at a hotel in Tampa, Fla. in the early morning of Sunday, June 23, 2024.

Julio was an independent artist with over 1 million followers on Instagram, as well as a small but dedicated fanbase. Now, his fans, colleagues, and others from all over the world want to know exactly what happened that led to his death. Here's what we know.

In the early morning of Sunday, June 23, Julio was celebrating his birthday at a Tampa Airbnb; however, according to his lawyer, he was asked to leave because there were too many people at the residence. He then relocated to a local Holiday Inn, where he was reportedly ambushed. This is when the shooting took place.

WTSP shares that two cars were shot at and four people were hit with gunfire, including Julio and three others. Aside from Julio's death, the other three victims were also injured, though not fatally.

The police investigation is ongoing.

Some posts made on Julio's Instagram before his passing are leading fans to believe that there may have been a gang-related motive to this shooting. Many of Julio's posts included the blood drop emoji, which is often a nod to the infamous Blood gang.

First Coast News also reports that Julio was a known member of Jacksonville's KTA gang, who had a longstanding feud with rival gang ATK. In fact, Julio was previously targeted in multiple other shootings.

A report from News 4 Jax shares that Julio was previously involved in a shootout in 2021: "Foolio was grazed in the ankle by a bullet during a drive-by shooting outside a Riverside home. He told police he heard gunshots when he walked outside, so he grabbed two guns and started shooting back."

He was later targeted again in late 2023, when he was shot in the foot.