Hip-hop mogul "Suge" Knight in intensive care after shooting

MIAMI — Notorious hip-hop producer Marion "Suge" Knight walked into the exclusive Red Room of South Beach's Shore Club early this morning and declared peace in the violent world of hip-hop and rap. He left with a bullet in his leg, wounding the celebratory vibe of the MTV Video Music Awards and, perhaps, the delicate truce of rap rivalries.

It happened in Miami, long considered neutral territory in the hip-hop world feuds that have at times pitched East Coast stars against West Coast stars. Knight has been at the center of those battles, and has been linked to the unsolved deaths of rap's biggest stars, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls.

"Miami joins the list of cities that have a rapper shot in their city," said Derrick Parker, a retired New York detective who founded that city's hip-hop investigative team. "You guys were neutral ground. But when you have the VMAs down there, everybody and their mother is coming."

Knight remained in intensive care at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach today after surgery on a shattered leg bone. Police say their investigation has been hampered by uncooperative witnesses, much like in the Tupac and Biggie cases.

Miami Beach Police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said today police have no suspects, and called a police report describing the suspect only as a black man wearing a pink shirt "erroneous."

"We don't have any physical description," he said. "We don't know how many subjects were involved, which is mind boggling, with all those people around."

Hernandez said police are investigating several possible scenarios.

"We're looking at it as being anything from an accidental discharge, maybe a member of his own entourage to the other extreme of it being a hit."

Saturday night's party — hosted by Grammy winning rapper/producer Kanye West at the swank hotel — featured a cross-section of pop stars including Jessica Alba, Joss Stone, Ciara, Nick Cannon and The Game, a rapper with whom Knight had tussled in June in Los Angeles. The soiree was just getting going with the crowd dancing to the Pussycat Dolls' DontCha when an unknown assailant walked up to 40-year-old Knight about 12:30 a.m. today and fired at least two shots, witnesses told The Miami Herald.

"I was dancing beside him, then I heard a pop that sounded like a champagne bottle had been opened, then I saw his bodyguards throw themselves on him" said Lilo Kinne, visiting from New York for the VMAs. "It happened so fast, people were in a panic, trying to get out of there."

Pandemonium broke as scared party-goers screamed for security and police, and declared that Knight had been shot. Inside, Knight sat slouched over on a couch in the VIP section, towels covering his face, a pool of blood below, witnesses said. Police took spoken word artist Malik Yusef, 35, of Chicago, into custody on disorderly conduct charges, but said it was unrelated to the shooting.

The New York publicists responsible for the party refused to comment and directed inquiries to the Shore Club where general manager Mathew Pargament declined to give details about the party or the shooting.

A group of friends waiting outside Mount Sinai's emergency room in the early morning hours today — including Southern rapper Petey Pablo, who recently signed to Knight's record label Tha Row — said Knight was alert and talkative.

"That bullet is a tribal mark, orientation, something we all gotta get sometimes — just as long as we don't die, it's fine," Pablo said.

Arriving at the Shore Club on Saturday on the heels of West's 11:52 p.m. entrance, a calm Knight chatted with reporters in the courtyard press area about his love of oldies music, his fondness for cooking — and peace and love in the music world.

"I think it's real good people are getting along down here," he said, alluding to tensions at other award shows. "It's good to see everyone getting along."

Security was tight at the awards, with sweeps for explosives and weapons searches. Police dogs sniffed guests, who walked metal detectors and had their purses searched, delaying their entrance into the arena for an hour.

Even before the incident, MTV officials had been on the alert for problems. Hours before Knight was shot, The Game and his entourage were forced to leave the AmericanAirlines Arena when two of the rapper's bodyguards tried to get into the rehearsal with guns.

"Two of the body guards were armed, and had concealed weapons permits," Miami police spokesman Delrish Moss said. "The officers explained what the rules were, that they could not come in armed so they left and came back without their weapons."