A college student hired to work on the music video French Montana and Rob49 were making when 10 people were shot earlier this month is fighting for his life in a Florida hospital.
Videographer Carlos Wilkerson was on location of the “Igloo” video shoot outside The Licking in Miami Gardens on Jan. 5 when one or more persons opened fire.
According to a GoFundMe page set up to support his family, the 23-year-old was left with “catastrophic spinal destruction along with extensive lung and liver damage” and is “heavily sedated on a ventilator in a medically induced coma.”
His parents, Shantamaria and Clarence Bonius told NBC 6 he is paralyzed from the waist down.
“I don't know people are just so heartless these days to just pull the trigger so easy, not even think about the consequences,” Clarence said.
According to Miami Gardens Police, Wilkerson is one of four victims still in critical condition. Six others have been released from hospital. An investigation is underway but no arrests have been made.
One of the rumoured victims is Rob49, who has made no public statement about the shooting. On Twitter, recent comments include “I hope Rob49 alright, ain’t heard nothing about the shooting incident” and “Rob49 been super quiet. I hope he’s okay.”
In his only statement on the incident, on Jan. 6, Montana made no mention of a music video.
“Last night, I was in Miami celebrating the release of my [Coke Boys 6] mixtape w/ friends at a local restaurant,” he wrote on social media. “We unfortunately were at the wrong place, at the wrong time when an incident took place that left people hurt. Our thoughts & prayers are w/ the victims & families at this time.”
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At least one of the shooting victims, Carl Leon, has retained a lawyer. Josiah Graham of the Graham Injury Firm in Fort Lauderdale said he plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of the 25-year-old who was shot in the abdomen and in the hand – shattering the bone in his thumb. A third bullet grazed his head.
In a release, Graham said the shooting happened “during the filming of a music video for recording artist, French Montana” and that his client was an innocent bystander who suffered “extensive injuries that have since forced him to undergo surgical operations.” He told 7News that he wants to know why there wasn’t adequate security during filming of the music video and told CBS Miami: "French Montana, yes, we are looking into him because it's our understanding that he had an unauthorized video shoot."
Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt said in a statement on Jan. 6 that no permits had been issued to shoot a music video. “Investigations so far have revealed that the necessary permits were not obtained by the organizers of the music video production,” she said. “The City’s policy requires a permit application and the appropriate law enforcement detail to be secured for these types of activities.
“As a result of this disregard of the procedures, the unauthorized music video production led to an unfortunate situation. If the necessary agencies were notified ahead of time and protocol followed, police officers would have been in place to safeguard the community and assist with deterring and responding, if needed, to any situation that may arise.”
In its own statement, The Licking – which is co-owned by DJ Khaled – said: “We were not aware of a video being filmed and found out last minute. French Montana was shooting a scene in the back parking lot. We have no idea what actually took place. The Licking restaurant has nothing to do with the incident.”