Rapper Beanie Sigel shot in Pleasantville after 'altercation,' police chief says

PLEASANTVILLE Philadelphia-born rapper Dwight Grant, better known as Beanie Sigel, was shot Friday morning, city police said.

"All I can confirm at this timeis that Mr. Dwight Grant was shot this morning after an altercation on Spruce Avenue," Pleasntville police Chief Jose Ruiz said, adding that his condition is "serious."

Grant, 40, suffered a gunshot wound that passed completely through his abdomen and back, the chief said. The shooting was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m.

He was transported to AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center.The family has requested no information be released, according to AtlanticCare spokesperson Jennifer Tornetta.

Media reports indicated Grant was rushed to the hospital and was in critical condition around 1 p.m. Friday.

A second person was involved in the shooting, but declined treatment, the chief said. That person is believed to be a friend on relative.

Beanie Sigel, whose rap career started in the early 2000s, has worked with fellow artists Jay-Z, Freeway and 50 Cent. He's also starred in movies, including "State Property" and "Paper Soldiers."

Grant's relationship with the law is long-running and stems as far back as his musical career. He served a year in federal prison following a weapons charge in West Philadelphia. Following a shooting at a club, he was charged with attempted murder a year later, but never convicted.

In 2004, he was sentenced to one year in federal prison on weapons charges and shot multiple times in Philadelphia two years later. In 2012, he was found to have a fully-loaded .38 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun inside his car. He was released from a Pennsylvania federal corrections institution in August after serving a two-year sentence on tax evasion charges.

Pleasantville police and members of the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office remain at the scene on Spruce Avenue, which the chief described as "a quiet area." The backyard of the property where the shooting took place sits against the Atlantic City Expressway and is about seven miles shy of Atlantic City.

Ruiz also said that officers were at the hospital waiting for Sigel to offer any information to investigators.

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Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.

Source: http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2014/12/rapper_beanie_segel_shot_in_pleasantville_report_states.html