By Ismail Shakil
OTTAWA (Reuters) – A security guard was seriously injured in a shooting at Canadian rapper Drake's mansion in Toronto early Tuesday, police said, without confirming whether the five-time Grammy Award-winning singer was in the home during the incident.
Police said the shooting occurred around 2 a.m. (0600 GMT) and that officers responding to the incident found a man with a gunshot wound who was taken to hospital. The suspected shooter was spotted and the person fled in a vehicle.
Speaking to reporters outside Drake's home in Toronto's upscale Bridle Path neighbourhood, often called “Millionaires' Row,” Inspector Paul Krawczyk said the investigation is still at an early stage and information is very limited.
Krawczyk said police have not yet determined a motive for the shooting, and details about the shooter or the vehicle are not yet available.
He added that the injured man, a security guard who was standing outside the palace gates, is still in the hospital in serious condition. Krawczyk could not confirm whether Drake was home at the time of the incident, but he said police were in contact with his team, which was cooperating.
In response to a question about whether the incident was related to an ongoing dispute between Drake and American rapper Kendrick Lamar, Krawcheck said he was aware of the matter, but said it was too early in the investigation to determine any motive and declined to comment further.
Lamar, who has won 17 Grammy Awards, escalated his musical battle with Drake last week by releasing three “dis” tracks in 36 hours, according to Variety magazine. The video for the last of the three songs, “Not Like Us,” showed an aerial view of Drake's mansion in Toronto.
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The song, which has more than 23 million views on Lamar's YouTube channel, prompted some fans to add an “Owned by Kendrick” tag to Drake's Toronto home on Google Maps (NASDAQ:), according to the National Post. The poster has since been removed.
Representatives for Drake and Lamar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
