Shooting at Rihanna’s Home: New Details on Suspect
On Sunday, March 8, a woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after multiple shots were fired at Rihanna’s Beverly Hills home while the pop star was at home.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told People that officers responded to a report of “shots fired” around 1:15 pm local time on Sunday afternoon. The suspect, who was armed with an AR-15 weapon, fired several rounds at the house inside the white Tesla across the street from the entrance of the property.
LAPD radio suggested at least ten shots were fired at the home, the Los Angeles Times reported. One round went through the wall of the house, and other bullet holes were found in the gate and in the parking lot on the street, an LAPD spokesman said.
Rihanna lives in this area with her partner, A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Athelston Mayers. The couple has two sons, 3-year-old RZA and 2-year-old Riot, and a 6-month-old daughter, Rocki. It is not yet clear if Rocky or the children were in the house.
The suspect — identified as Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, — was arrested at the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping center about 30 minutes after the first 911 call. He is currently in custody, with bail set at $10.2 million. Ortiz has been arrested several times in his home state of Florida. The LA Times reports that he was involved in a money laundering case in 2013, was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving in 2021, and in 2023, he was arrested again on suspicion of domestic violence and battery.
He didn’t have a personal relationship with Rihanna or Rocky, but, according to reports, he often posted videos of him shouting at celebrities on social media. Last month, he apparently posted a meme about Rihanna and, days later, tagged the singer in the comments telling her to “say something directly to me instead of sneaking around like you’re talking to me when I’m not around.”
The fact that Rihanna was inside the house at the time added another layer of caution to the shocking incident. On Sunday, a source briefly told People that Rihanna is “fine.” But now, we have more updates on how you’re doing after the “scary” experience.
“Even with a large security team present, it is scary to see that something like this can still happen,” the source told People on Monday, confirming that everyone is safe. “Rihanna heard the gunshot, but at first she was confused as to what happened,” they said.
Officials have not released a known motive for the attack, and a new People report says Rihanna “doesn’t understand why someone would target her family.” A second source told this newspaper that the founder of Fenty Beauty is “frightened” by the incident.
This is all we know for now, but we’ll keep you posted with updates. We’ve also reached out to Rihanna’s rep for comment.
