The 2016 Irving Plaza shooting is about to be relived in court as rapper Troy Ave heads to trial on attempted murder and illegal weapons possession charges. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the details, the incident took place at a concert where T.I., Maino, Uncle Murda, and Troy were performing. It was around 10:15 p.m. when gunfire rang out inside of the venue, causing a stampede scene.
The shooting took place inside a green room located on the third floor. During the melee, four people were injured, including Troy and Maino's girlfriend of just a few weeks, Maggie Carrie, who was shot in the leg. Ronald "Banga" McPhatter, Troy's bodyguard, was killed. The rapper was arrested but has since pleaded not guilty on all counts.
"Sh*t, everybody knows what happened," Troy said to AllHipHop in a recent interview. "It ain’t even nothing to argue. It’s right there, the proof is in the pudding. The proof is in black and white paperwork, in the FBI paperwork. I don’t even have to argue anything, it’s there. They see that it’s not my gun, I never brought no gun in the club. DNA evidence proves that, so where’d I get it from?"
Back in 2017, Troy did an interview with the New York Daily News where he shared his side of the story. Troy said although he was injured during the incident, he wrestled the gun away from the assailant before he reportedly fired shots in self-defense. The surveillance footage which circulated online doesn't show anyone else firing shots except Troy, but he says that doesn't tell the full story.
"I got [the gun] from the assailant. I didn’t make this up, we didn’t splice the genetics on the one gun," Troy told AllHipHop. During the investigation, the DNA of podcast host Daryl "Taxstone" Campbell, a man who was feuding with Troy, was found on the trigger and handle of the gun. "They should just free Troy Ave. If this were to happen somewhere else, I would have been a hero. Because if you look at it, I saved mad people from getting shot. There are three other victims, more people could have died. If I didn’t do what I did, fought the gun away and wrestled — it’s fight or flight. I chose to fight."
Campbell has pleaded guilty to federal gun charges, but because Troy is the only one seen in the video firing shots, he was indicted for attempted murder. If convicted, Troy faces 20 years in prison. Campbell has also been indicted for the murder of McPhatter.
"I went head-on with a gunman and by the grace of God, took the gun out his hand," Troy continued. "So why am I not looked at as a hero? Why am I not praised like, 'Wow this guy did something heroic'? Instead, the media paints you like he’s coming in the club shooting all crazy. That’s not true, I was coming out of a room. I was already in the club. I was supposed to be there. I was the special invited guest to perform, but they made it look like I just came in doing sh*t."