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Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have probably felt a little safer for several months. The woman accused of shooting at the home the couple shares in Los Angeles was officially indicted back in June, though the indictment was only unsealed this week. The grand jury indictment includes 14 counts, the most serious of which is attempted …
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have probably felt a little safer for several months. The woman accused of shooting at the home the couple shares in Los Angeles was officially indicted back in June, though the indictment was only unsealed this week. The grand jury indictment includes 14 counts, the most serious of which is attempted murder. Here’s everything you need to know.
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz indicted on attempted murder after shooting at Rihanna’s house
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, of Orlando, Florida, was indicted on June 18, a few months after she allegedly shot at the home A$AP Rocky and Rihanna share with their three children. The indictment was kept under wraps because Ortiz was undergoing psychiatric evaluation. It was unsealed Wednesday, a day after another judge ruled that Ortiz is mentally competent to stand trial, putting a case that once appeared stalled on a fast track to trial.
Along with attempted murder, Ortiz faces 10 counts of assault with an assault weapon, one for each person on the two properties that were hit, and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling or camper. The indictment names the couple’s three children, RZA, Riot and Rocki, all under age 5, as victims. The new charges replace similar ones filed in March. She is being held on $2.6 million bail. Ortiz has pleaded not guilty. If convicted on all counts, she could face life in prison.
When did the incident happen?
The indictment stems from a terrifying incident on March 8 of this year. According to authorities, Ortiz drove from Florida to Los Angeles, pulled her Tesla directly up to the gate of the couple’s home, and pointed an AR-15-style rifle out of the window. She allegedly fired at least 20 rounds at the home and a neighboring house before fleeing the scene.
Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, their children, and several other adults were on the property at the time. According to several reports, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were inside an Airstream trailer on the property, and bullets struck the camper, according to police reports. Additional shots hit the wall of the home’s nursery, where the couple’s three young children were with their nanny. Rihanna’s mother, Monica Fenty, and several staff members were also inside the home during the attack.
Rihanna told investigators that she heard roughly 10 loud bangs that sounded like something hitting metal. She pulled Rocky, who had been sleeping, out of bed and onto the floor. Police located the car about 30 minutes later and arrested Ortiz at a nearby shopping center.
The motive remains unclear
Ortiz is a longtime licensed speech pathologist with no known connection to Rihanna, A$AP Rocky or anyone else who was on the property at the time of the shooting. It’s unclear what prompted her to drive cross-country, but Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said, “This is a person who wanted to kill Rihanna.” He added that everyone else was collateral damage.
According to reports, Ortiz posted increasingly angry comments about the “Umbrella” singer on social media in the months leading up to the shooting, some of which took the form of threats. An official motive has not been released.
Ortiz is being represented by Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman. A trial date has not been set. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have not issued additional statements.
