Foolio, a Jacksonville, Florida rapper, was in Tampa to celebrate his 26th birthday when he tried to check in to a Holiday Inn on June 23, 2024. Not long afterward, Foolio, or Julio Foolio — legal name Charles Jones — was dead, killed in an “ambush” shooting. Three other people were injured in the attack.
Foolio had initially rented a Tampa Airbnb, but was forced to leave when too many people showed up for his birthday party, the location of which Foolio publicized on social media, News4Jax reported. Early that morning, Foolio arrived at a nearby Holiday Inn, where he was reportedly ambushed in the parking lot before he could check into a room.
As of June 24, a suspect in the case had not been named, according to WFLA. The three other men injured were reportedly in stable condition. Foolio was pronounced dead at the scene.
To date, no suspect has been named
Police said they believed the attackers could be from a rival group in Jacksonville who traveled to the Tampa area. “There are cameras here and our officers are working to view all of the cameras and talk with people you know who might’ve seen anything or heard anything,” Tampa Police Department Public Information Officer Jonee Lewis said of the Foolio murder investigation. As of that press conference, authorities believed the suspect or suspects were still at large.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville crime analyst Tom Hackney added, “After doing this for so long, I would tend to think this is more of a Jacksonville-based regional kind of beef between two groups, maybe took advantage of a foolish posting saying where he was.”
Foolio had been shot before
Foolio’s murder came after two shooting incidents the hip-hop star survived in recent years. In 2021, Foolio was grazed in the ankle by a bullet near his Florida home before returning fire. He was shot again in the foot two years later, News4Jax reported.
Foolio, whose last album, Resurrection, came out in April 2024, just a few months before he died, performed a controversial rap music subgenre called “drill,” with songs that often referenced murder while calling out rivals in Foolio’s hometown, Jacksonville. Foolio came up in 2015, and had around a million Spotify listeners when he died.
Foolio referenced those previous attempts on his life shortly before he was murdered. “THESE LAST COUPLE MONTHS/YEARS OF MY LIFE BEEN TRAGIC 💔GOD BEEN TRYNNA SEND ME A MESSAGE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS ON MY LIFE I KEEP SURVIVING..I KEEP LOSING MY BRUDDAS TO JAIL AND GRAVEYARDS BUT I KNOW THE MOST HIGH DOING EVERYTHING FOR A REASON HE LET ME WALK AGAIN FOR A REASON [sic],” Foolio wrote in part on Instagram around the same time Resurrection was released.
When Foolio’s death was announced, Mani, his girlfriend wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Y’all took my boyfriend from me. I hate y’all & I won’t be the only one crying 💔”