Police Search for Suge Shooter

Marion "Suge" Knight survived the drive-by shooting that killed his pal Tupac Shakur nine years ago. Now, the rap mogul and trouble magnet is recovering from an apparent attempt on his own life.

In town with the rest of the hip-hop community for the MTV Video Music Awards, Knight was shot early Sunday morning while attending a pre-party at a posh Miami Beach nightclub hosted by Kanye West.

Per Miami Beach police spokesman, Bobby Hernandez, Knight, 40, was wounded in the upper right leg after an unknown assailant walked into the Shore Club hotel approximately 1 a.m. and opened fire on the Death Row Records cofounder.

Knight is said to be in good condition after being admitted to nearby Mt. Sinai Medical Center. He is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove the bullet and repair a shattered leg bone later Monday.

Authorities are still looking for the shooter, described in the police report as a black male wearing a pink shirt, who escaped without any witnesses among the hundreds of partygoers able to identify him--at least to the cops. Aside from Knight, other celebs on West's guest list included Jessica Alba, Paris Hilton, Eddie Murphy, Joss Stone, the Game and the Black Eyed Peas, but no word whether any of them were still at the club at the time of the shooting.

Knight's Los Angeles-based lawyer, Dermot Givens, was unavailable for comment early Monday.

According to the Miami Herald, the attacker approached Knight, who was sitting at a VIP table, and got off two shots, hitting Knight once and sparking bedlam as frightened patrons made a dash for the exits.

"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, eyewitness Lilo Kinne of New York told the Herald. "It happened so fast, people were in a panic, trying to get out of here."

About an hour before, the rap kingpin had been talking about the good vibes around the VMAs, noting that the scene had been largely free of the type of violence plaguing rap communities in New York and Los Angeles.

"I think it's real good people are getting along down here," Knight told the Herald. "It's good to see everyone getting along."

Knight, of course, was a major figure in the so-called rap wars of the mid-1990s, as his West Coast-based Death Row records traded barbs with Sean "Diddy" Combs' East Coast-based Bad Boy Records. Diddy, in town to host the VMAs, did not immediately comment on the shooting.

Shakur was Death Row's biggest artist when he was shot in Las Vegas in 1996 while riding in a car with Knight. Six months later, Bad Boy's top star, Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G., was shot and killed outside a music industry party in Los Angeles. Both crimes remain unsolved. While Biggie's family has accused Knight of being behind the rapper's killing, police have never declared Knight a suspect.

Knight also has deep connections to Los Angeles' Bloods, many of whom were on his payroll. He and several gangbangers were caught on videotape in 1996 beating a rival gang member. That was a violation of his parole, and he wound up in a California state prison for almost five years.

Following Knight's shooting, security was heightened at Sunday night's VMAs at the American Airlines Arena, with police patting down attendees for weapons and explosives. While the ceremony came off without a hitch, the incident was definitely on the minds of the artists.

Alicia Keys was quoted by USA Today as saying she was "disappointed that these things keep happening." While rapper Lil Jon downplayed the shooting, telling the paper that "there's hot parties every night, and you just had one minor incident."