Released 911 calls reveal fear and panic from a manager inside the Floridian Restaurant after a shooting in downtown Fort Lauderdale involving hip-hop star Rick Ross.
“And I just heard a bunch of gun shots go off and a car sped by and my server just left on her bike to go to it. Oh my God, they're turning around and coming back,” the manager of the restaurant at 1410 E. Las Olas Blvd. said as she reported the emergency to 911.
Ross, whose real name is William L. Roberts, was driving a silver 2011 Rolls Royce on Las Olas when shots were fired around 5 a.m. Monday, causing the car to crash into an apartment building at 311 SE 15th Ave., Fort Lauderdale Police said.
The suspect or suspects fled the area before officers arrived, police said.
The dispatcher asked the restaurant manager how many shots she heard.
“I don't know, but they're coming back, I'm hiding,” she responded.
Neither Ross, 37, nor passenger Shateria L. Moragne-el, 28, was injured in the incident, according to police.
"When I heard that it happened, I wasn't surprised at all, to be perfectly honest with you,” Power 96 morning DJ Alex “Big Lip” Chisholm said of the shooting.
He said Ross does have a few enemies. But he also said he’s hearing doubts from others in the hip-hop industry about the shooting.
"I talked to a lot of my friends in the industry. They're like, OK, you know, Rolls Royce, machine guns pulled out, and he doesn't get hit at all, and his car doesn’t get hit at all,” Chisholm said. “They really don't believe it."
That includes archrival and hip-hop star 50 Cent. He tweeted about the shooting, “Hahaha fat boy hit the building? lol it looks staged to me. No hole's in da car.”
NBC 6 went to Ross’ upscale community Long Lake Ranches to try and speak with him, but was turned away at the gate.
Last year, a body was found outside a Miami Gardens home owned by Ross, but police said he didn’t live there.
Meantime, it was back to business as usual on Las Olas. Staged or not, customers at the Floridian can see the bullet hole in front of the restaurant is real.
"Well, I mean, obviously it's real, you can look at the bullet hole so you know, it's pretty real," patron Edwina Shirley said.
More Local Stories:
Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida