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Topics: Rihanna, Crime, Los Angeles, Celebrity
Phoebe Tonks
The woman accused of firing multiple shots at singer Rihanna’s home in Beverly Hills has formally been charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident.
The Los Angeles Times reported that police first responded to an incident at 1:21pm local time on Sunday March 8, when at least ten shots were fired at the home of the Umbrella singer.
Rihanna; her partner, A$AP Rocky; their three children; and Rihanna’s mother were all at the property at the time of the shooting.
Thankfully, despite the volume of shots fired, there were no reported injuries.
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The woman believed to be responsible for the shooting, Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, was charged on Tuesday with one count of attempted murder, 10 counts of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.
While investigating the incident, Armen Arias, an LAPD spokesperson, revealed that officials discovered bullet holes in a gate at the pop star's residence, as well as on an RV that was parked on the driveway.
After the shots were fired, a white Tesla, where the woman allegedly fired the shots, fled the scene, according to dispatch audio obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
A police helicopter later identified the vehicle at a parking lot for a shopping center in Sherman Oaks, with the suspect arrested without incident roughly 30 minutes after the alleged shooting.
Arias added: "When they pulled the suspect over and took her into custody, they searched the vehicle and located an assault rifle and seven casings."
Hailing from Florida, investigators believe Ortiz drove to Los Angeles from her home in the sunshine state, said LA police chief Jim McDonnell, although he admitted the timing of her travel is unclear. Her most recent address was recorded in Orlando and she has been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade.
So far, authorities have yet to confirm any connection to the singer and the motive remains unclear, but investigators are now hard at work trying to unravel the unanswered questions surrounding the worrying case.
The LA public defender’s office has been appointed to represent Ortiz when she next appears in court and issued a short statement on Tuesday which read: “As in every case, we will work to ensure that our client receives the full protections guaranteed under the constitution.”
Ortiz will now be arraigned on March 25 and has been detained in custody on $1.8m bail.
UNILAD previously reached out to the LAPD and Rihanna’s representatives for comment surrounding the incident.