South Beach

Rapper Wisdom Charged in Miami Beach Shooting, DaBaby Questioned and Released

Wisdom Awute among two men facing attempted murder and other charges in Ocean Drive Shooting

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Two men including a well-known rapper are facing attempted murder charges in a shooting that injured two people on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach earlier this week.

Wisdom Awute, a rapper who is part of DaBaby's Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment label, and Christopher Urena were arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting, Miami Beach Police officials said.

Awute, 21, and Urena, 29, both face charges of attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault. Urena also faces charges of grand theft and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Miami-Dade Corrections
Wisdom Awute and Christopher Urena

Police received multiple 911 calls reporting the shooting just after 11:30 p.m. Monday along the popular strip of Art Deco hotels and restaurants. Officers found one person struck in the shoulder and another in the leg not far from the Prime 112 restaurant.

Both victims were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where one remained in critical condition and was paralyzed, police said. The other victim was treated and released.

According to an arrest report, Urena had been involved in an argument with another group of men when he pulled out a gun and opened fire.

At some point, Awute pulled out a gun and shot one of the victims in the leg, the report said.

Getty Images
FILE - Wisdom performs during DaBaby + Friends Concert at Orlando Amphitheater on April 17, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Interscope)

Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby was one of many people detained for questioning in the Ocean Drive shooting before police let him go, Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said.

DaBaby — whose legal name is Jonathan Kirk — had one of the biggest hits of 2020 with “Rockstar,” and was nominated for a Grammy Award for record of the year. A man answering the phone at his record label said "No comment."

FILE - DaBaby accepts Top Rap Song for “ROCKSTAR” onstage during the 2021 Billboard Music Awards held at the Microsoft Theater on May 23, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Awute and Urena made their first court appearances Wednesday, where they were both ordered held without bond.

NBC 6 and AP
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