Miami rapper recounts how French Montana video shoot turned violent. New photos emerge

Miami rapper Ced Mogul thought he might get some welcome publicity last week when he was invited to make a cameo during the production of a new video from a worldwide famous artist.

The 36-year-old, who is still hoping for a breakout hit, wasn’t there to put words to beat. Instead, he was supposed to showcase a cigar line pushed by his promoter during the making of a French Montana video on a back lot next to a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Miami Gardens.

Mogul, whose real name is Schadrac Chaparro, said he even brought along a photographer to take pictures of him with French Montana, a Grammy-nominated and multiple-platinum artist, and new up-and-coming New Orleans rapper Rob49. Then, as the bright lights shone on the rappers flanked by luxury and custom cars, it all went sideways with bursts of gunfire.

Over the next few minutes at least two people were robbed at gunpoint and one of the assailants began spraying gunfire from a semi-automatic rifle, Mogul said. By the time the shooting stopped and the men responsible for the mayhem had taken off in a black sedan, 10 people were shot, including Rob49, a 23-year-old whose real name is Rob Thomas. Their motive, according to Mogul, was to snatch expensive watches and chains.

Mogul said he ran. Rob49, whose rapper name is an homage to the Ninth and Fourth wards of New Orleans where he grew up, was wounded and laboring to keep up.

“When he got back to us he had blood all over him and he didn’t have his chain on,” said Mogul. “I took off running. He started following me. I’m running away from him.”

Montana managed to escape, a picture of him with fans at a Kentucky Fried Chicken about a block from the shooting and allegedly after it, surfaced this week. He released a statement to his more than three million Twitter followers Friday night saying the shooting happened while he was releasing a new mixtape at a local restaurant.

“We unfortunately were at the wrong place, at the wrong time when an incident took place that left people hurt,” Montana wrote on Twitter. “Our thoughts & prayers are w/ the victims & families at this time.”

Monday, four days after the shooting, Rob49’s condition hadn’t been made public. Also shot was one of French Montana’s bodyguards.

“They shot up French Montana’s security so bad, I’m still traumatized,” Mogul said.

Miami Gardens police have said very little publicly about the largest mass shooting in South Florida since three gunman killed three and injured 21 others as people spilled out of a Northwest Miami-Dade dance hall after an album release in June of 2021.

Mogul — a father of two who attended college in Pennsylvania and New York City before returning to the Miami area in 2014 — said he’s released three albums since 2016 and is just beginning to get noticed. In an October 2022 interview with the online site 24Hip-Hop, Mogul said he was most heavily influenced by the Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh and novelists John Grisham and Dan Brown.

He said everything seemed normal just before 7 p.m. on Thursday when the taping began in a mostly vacant lot behind the KFC at Northwest 177th Street and 27th Avenue. Then, as they were about to break down and head over to the back parking a block away at The Licking for the rest of the shoot, Mogul said he and others noticed Montana and Rob49 pointing at a promoter.

Mogul said three men robbed the promoter of his Rolex, car keys and wallet. But, he said, the promoter kept quiet and everyone decided to just move to The Licking at 17647 NW 27th Ave. The three men who robbed the promoter, Mogul said, tagged along, pretending to blend in and just watch the making of the video.

“We didn’t know if they had guns. He wasn’t saying anything,” Mogul said. “Now it moves to The Licking and the same three guys are there pretending to watch the video.”

Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt said police were not notified of a robbery during the initial video shoot near the KFC and that she couldn’t confirm Mogul’s version of events.

Mogul said about 45 minutes after setting up lighting and props, he heard several “pops,” then saw Rob49 racing towards him, blood covering his shirt. Mogul said he ran about six blocks all the way to Northwest 183rd Street, with the bloodied Rob49 behind him.

“I didn’t even know the guy,” said Mogul, who said he has not spoken with the police. Mogul also said even though police said they found multiple weapons left behind, he doesn’t believe anyone returned fire.

The shooting sent the dozens of people taking part or watching the production ducking for cover. The chaos also frightened an English bulldog named Chola on the scene so much that the dog fled. Owner Wilmark Baez said a surveillance camera at a nearby gas station captured Chola running past some pumps, according to WSVN Channel 7. Baez and Chola were finally reunited three days later after a woman who read several social media posts about the missing dog, spotted him in a Miami Gardens yard.

Chief Noel-Pratt said last week that no permits had been pulled and the city was not notified ahead of time of the planned video production. Noel-Pratt on Monday said detectives are still interviewing witnesses and the shooter or shooters have yet to be identified.

“If they would have pulled the proper paperwork, it probably would have turned out differently,” she said.