UPDATE 3/29/14, 7:14 P.M. ET:
It has been confirmed that Benzino was shot by his nephew Gai Scott, 36, who has been arrested by Plymouth police and charged with assault with intent to murder.
“There has been growing family tension between Raymond Scott and Gai Scott,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said in a statement. ”At some point when the cars were side by side, Gai Scott fired several shots into the red Dodge SUV being driven by Raymond Scott.”
There has been no update on Benzino’s condition. He was rushed to South Shore Hospital with non-fatal injuries and listed in critical condition.
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“Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” star Benzino, 48, is reportedly in critical condition after being shot while driving in the funeral procession of his mother Mary Scott who passed away on March 20, reports WHDH.com.
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According to various sources, a fight broke out between family members and Benzino, real name Raymond Scott, was shot three times by his nephew en route to the funeral service in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.
One Twitter user posted the following picture of a hearse with police tape around it:
Benzino has been expressing his grief at his mother’s passing for the last week on social media, receiving support from his friends and castmates, including Stevie J.
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Last week, the rapper posted the following picture to Instagram with the caption:
“God knows I have been through alot in my life, BUT EVERY INCH OF GOOD, KINDNESS AND LOVE IN MY SOUL IS BECAUSE OF THIS WOMAN, A BIG PART OF ME IS LOST NOW AND I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, MA WORDS CANT EXPRESS MY LOVE FOR YOU.I WILL MISS EVERY BREATHING MOMENT, I DONT KMOW HOW I WILL CONTINUE KNOWING YOU ARE NOT HERE. Im lost.”
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Read more of the details from the Boston Globe:
State Police arrested a male suspect this afternoon after a 48-year-old man was shot during a funeral procession in Duxbury on Route 3 southbound near Exit 11, according to authorities.
The shooting occurred at 11:55 a.m., and the victim was taken to South Shore Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz.
State Police said the initial report stated the shooting occurred after an argument between family members, but investigators are now working to determine what sparked the violence. In his statement, Cruz said that a person driving a Bentley shot the driver of a red Dodge SUV, who got out of his car and was taken to the Duxbury Police Department by a passerby, before being taken to the hospital.
The driver of the Bentley was arrested and charged with armed assault with intent to murder, according to Cruz. He will be arraigned Monday in Plymouth District Court. His name was not released.
Father William Williams of St. Peter’s Church in Plymouth, where the funeral procession was headed from Quincy, said that the family arrived at the church late but that the funeral was held.
When he looked out of the church to see the funeral procession arrive, he said, he saw blood smudges on the limousine and the hearse. The family was upset, he said, but did not speak about the shooting.
“I said to one of the guys: ‘There’s blood on the hearse.’ There was an incident along the way,” Williams said. “The family was there. They were mourning somebody they loved who died so they didn’t want to talk cops and robbers.”
The highway was closed after the shooting and there are no further details at this time.
Benzino is co-founder and former co-owner of premiere Hip Hop magazine The Source. He stepped down from his position as chief brand manager in 2005.
