Baby Blue, a member of the R&B rap group Pretty Ricky, has been hospitalized for several days after being critically wounded earlier this week during an armed robbery attempt in South Florida.
The 36-year-old artist, whose real name is Diamond Blue Smith, is recovering in an intensive care unit after being shot Monday outside a Davie bowling alley in Broward County, according to a Twitter message he posted Thursday.
Smith’s tweet appeared to indicate he would be OK following earlier reports that the rapper was fighting for his life and may not survive.
“Thankyou everyone for your thoughts and prayers,” he tweeted. “I’m still in ICU but I’m ok on the road to recovery. The bullet traveled [through] my [lungs] is in stuck in my back. I have to learn to breathe & walk again. I have a great medical team here at the hospital. God Got Me.”
Smith was in town Monday for the release party of his new song “Jerry Rice” when he was shot in the parking lot of SpareZ Bowling Alley, according to the Davie Police Department.
Investigators said it appeared the rapper was targeted.
Smith was walking to his vehicle with a friend around midnight when two masked gunmen emerged and demanded he hand over a gold necklace he had on.
A scuffle ensued and then gunfire, which struck Smith in the left shoulder, police said.
The suspects, who were both wearing dark hoodies, fled the scene and remain at large.
A video shared on social media appears to show Baby Blue lying on the floor inside the bowling center after the shooting as his entourage called out for help.
“Oh, my God,” someone can be heard screaming as another witness pleaded for the victim to “breathe.”
Pretty Ricky is a Miami group that formed in the late 1990s but didn’t release its first album until 2003. The group had several hits in the 2000s including “On the Hotline” and “Grind with Me.”
Those with information are encouraged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
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