Witnesses say Rapper Ross shot at from nearby car in January drive-by

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Two witnesses in January say they saw a car pull alongside a Rolls Royce driven by rapper Rick Ross in South Florida and heard numerous gunshots fired before the car crashed into a nearby building.

A Fort Lauderdale police report released Thursday says witnesses saw three or four people inside an older model, burgundy- or maroon-colored BMW before the shots rang out. Neither Ross nor his girlfriend, fashion designer Shateria L. Moragne-el, were injured in the Jan. 28 attack. The bullets mostly struck nearby businesses.

The witnesses told police that the car's occupants fired out of their passenger side window at Ross' vehicle, according to the report. Police recovered 18 bullet casings.

"The witnesses ducked for cover in their vehicle due to the rapid gunfire, but were able to see the vehicle flee eastbound," the report says.

The report also says that Ross was armed with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun located in his waistband. Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, did not draw the gun. The police report also notes that Ross has a suspended concealed weapon permit.

Police are reviewing video from 20 surveillance cameras in the area for clues. The footage has not been made public.

Ross and Moragne-el had gone to breakfast in Fort Lauderdale after celebrating the rapper's 37th birthday at a Miami Beach nightclub hours before. The couple lives in nearby Davie.

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