Lil Tjay—born Tione Jayden Merritt—was arrested on Monday afternoon (Jan. 16) in The Bronx during a traffic stop en route to film a music video with Ice Spice.
Local authorities told TMZ Merritt, 21, was detained and will be charged with criminal possession of a weapon. According to ABC7 NY, the “Goin’ Up” rapper was traveling in a black Cadillac Escalade along West 183rd Street and Ryder Avenue when NYPD conducted the search. In total, five men were inside the vehicle and four handguns were recovered.
The arrest comes over six months after Merritt was shot multiple times during an ambush at the Promenade in Edgewater, New Jersey. The Bronx native was one of two men wounded during the attack. It was later reported that 27-year-old Mohamed Konate attempted to rob Merritt, Antoine Boyd, 22, and Jeffrey Valdez, 24, when the shooting occurred.
Konate was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of first-degree armed robbery, as well as various other unlawful weapons charges, in relation to the shooting. Valdez and Boyd were later arrested and charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
Following the attack, Tjay revealed he was shot seven times in the nearly-fatal incident.
“I just want to say thanks for the love, thanks for the support,” he stated in a video shared on Instagram. “I’ve been looking at the DMs. Seven shots, it was tough, you know? Most people don’t survive it, but I’m here for a reason. New music coming soon, we’re going to come back stronger than ever. I love y’all.”
Not long after, the “Run It Up” rapper returned to the stage for Rolling Loud New York.