Rapper 6ix9ine suffered fractured ribs and a blood clot in his eye after being assaulted at a gym in Florida, Newsweek can exclusively reveal.
The 26-year-old's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, confirmed his client's injuries, as well as scratches to his face as a result of the attack.
The alleged assault against the rapper—whose given name is Daniel Hernandez—took place in South Florida on Tuesday at a branch of the LA Fitness gym chain.
Lazzaro told Newsweek: "He was attacked in a sauna at a gym by several thugs who beat him up" and said that the rapper "tried fighting back."
"He had cuts to his face (blood clot in eye) and bruises (fractured ribs). Employees heard the disturbance and the perpetrators fled," he said. "Police in South Florida were called and he was transported via ambulance to a local hospital."
Newsweek reached out to local police and LA Fitness via email for comment.
The rapper has not yet spoken publicly about what happened but videos circulating on social media show him being kicked on the floor in the restroom. Another video showed the rapper walking out of the restroom with a bloodied face.
It is not known what the reason was for the alleged attack, but Lazzaro told TMZ he would be beefing up his client's security to "make sure 6ix9ine gets the protection he clearly needs."
The rapper from the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, rose to fame in 2017 following his debut single "Gummo."
They finally caught the rap rat 6ix9ine lacking, no way LMFAOOO pic.twitter.com/lfqAzA4hXm
— Klaytin (@KIaytin) March 22, 2023
He released his second album, TattleTales in September 2020, just months after he was released from prison into home confinement to serve out his remaining sentence for multiple counts of racketeering, firearms offenses and drug trafficking.
6ix9ine was sentenced to 24 months in prison for those charges which stemmed from his role in the New York gang, Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. His sentence was reduced when he cooperated with federal authorities to name other rappers affiliated with the gang.
He is no stranger to run-ins with the law in New York City, including having involvement in a shooting in Times Square in March 2018, another at Brooklyn's Barclays Center the following month, which injured two people, and a third near the W Hotel in June 2018.
In 2015, 6ix9ine was arrested for the first time at age 18 after a video surfaced of him appearing to engage in sexual activities with a girl who was 13 years old at the time.
He claimed he was 17 when the video was filmed and there was "no sexual contact" between the pair. 6ix9ine took a plea deal where he agreed to get his GED, not commit another crime for two years, write a letter of apology to the family, and not post sexually explicit or violent images of women or children on social media.
In early 2018 he was involved in two separate altercations, one with a teenage fan in Houston and another at Los Angeles International Airport.
6ix9ine received misdemeanor assault charges in May 2018 over the Houston incident and in the same month was arrested for driving without a license. He received a further four misdemeanor charges for allegedly grabbing a police officer.
He has also been accused of domestic abuse by his daughter's mother, Sara Molina. The rapper admitted to having "physical fights" with Molina in a September 2020 interview with The New York Times.
Update 03/22/2023, 8.30 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
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