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Don't Worry, Snoop's OK!
Rapper Snoop Dogg Unscathed as Bullets Fly in L.A.
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A gunman in a speeding car opened fire on a motorcade carrying "gangsta" rapper Snoop Dogg and his bodyguards, slightly injuring one person and leaving police on Friday with few clues as to who might be shooting at one of rap's biggest stars.
The sometimes controversial 31-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was questioned by Los Angeles police detectives after the Thursday night shooting, an LAPD spokesman said, but was unable to shed much light on the incident.
"We talked to him last night and he was very cooperative," Sgt. John Pasquariello said. "He just doesn't know a lot."
Broadus was riding in a motorcade of five vehicles with eight armed bodyguards -- most of them off-duty police officers -- when one of three men in another car fired multiple rounds from a semi-automatic handgun, Pasquariello said.
Three of the vehicles in the convoy were struck by bullets but the "gangsta" rapper, who was riding alone in his Cadillac, was unscathed. One of his bodyguards was grazed in the back by a bullet and suffered a minor injury, Pasquariello said.
Pasquariello said detectives had not determined if Broadus was the intended target.
"Obviously he's in the rap industry and there's bad blood there on a lot of levels so certainly we're looking into that," he said, adding that detectives were also trying to locate at least two men who had a confrontation with Broadus's bodyguards as they left a residence shortly before the shooting.
"Some words were exchanged between the bodyguards and these guys and we're looking into that as well," Pasquariello said.
Pasquariello said Broadus's bodyguards included six police officers who normally patrol schools in the nearby city of Inglewood and two state parole agents.
He said it was not immediately clear how many of them had permits to carry concealed weapons, adding that police believe they did not return fire at the gunmen.
He said Broadus was "very friendly" with officers and did not appear to be traumatized by the incident.
"He didn't appear to be too stressed," Pasquariello said. "I'm sure getting shot at is not too pleasing."
Broadus, who was born and attended high school in the Los Angeles suburb of Long Beach, became one of rap's biggest star's after his debut album, "Doggystyle" topped the charts.
He has had several brushes with the law.
He was arrested on drug charges shortly after graduating from high school and in 1996 was acquitted of murder in the shooting death of a young man in a drive-by shooting.
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