MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was shot in the leg early Sunday during a party hosted by Grammy-winning hip hop artist Kanye West, police said.
Knight, 40, was hospitalized in good condition, police said. He was shot during a celebrity-studded party at the Shore Club, one of the many celebrations in Miami Beach ahead of the MTV Video Music Awards scheduled Sunday night, said Miami Beach Police Officer Bobby Hernandez.
Sonja Mauro, a guest at the club, said a shot in the party's VIP section rang out shortly before 1 a.m.
"I was in there and I heard a pop and I ran out and got trampled," she said.
People attending the party began screaming and running for the doors, she said.
Celebrities who attended included West, actress Jessica Alba and comedian Eddie Murphy, but it was unclear whether they were still there when the shooting took place.
Knight co-founded the pioneering rap label Death Row Records and hit the charts in the 1990s with West Coast stars including Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
Knight was convicted in 1992 of assault and weapons violations and was placed on probation. In 1996, he was jailed for five years for violating probation after he and several associates, including Shakur, were recorded on videotape beating a gang rival at a Las Vegas hotel. Shakur was later shot to death in Las Vegas.
Relatives of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. have also accused Knight of involvement in B.I.G.'s death, though police have never named Knight as a suspect.
Knight continues to operate his label, now called Tha Row.
Attempts to reach a spokesman for West early Sunday were unsuccessful. A message left with an MTV representative was not immediately returned.
Well said.
