Rapper 6ix9ine (born Daniel Hernandez) is being sued for $150 million by a woman who said she was caught in crossfire of the rapper’s retribution against gang members in 2018. The woman, who only identifies herself as Jane Doe, is suing the rapper for battery and assault claiming his actions caused her “grievous physical and mental injuries” as well as emotional and mental distress. She is seeking $75 million in damages and $75 million in punitive damages.
In December 2019, 6ix9ine was sentenced to 24 months in prison in Manhattan federal court for his participation in the violent Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods New York street gang. His sentence was lighter because he provided the government with key evidence that enabled them to bring charges against two other individuals.
In a complaint filed in a New York Supreme Court and obtained by Billboard, the woman says she is filing her case under a pseudonym because she is afraid about gang retaliation. She said that on July 16, 2018, in the courtyard area of Smurf Village in New York that members of the Nine Trey Bloods Gang began filming a music video without permission from the building. When 6ix9ine learned of the video, he instructed several fellow Nine Trey members to fire multiple gunshots into the courtyard of Smurf Village at the other members of the Nine Trey, who he believed were responsible for orchestrating his kidnapping, according to court papers.
Doe says she was standing in the courtyard when the shots were fired and she was hit in the left foot by a stray bullet. She says the gunshot caused her to fall to the ground, causing her to also injure her knee and back. Since the shooting, she says she has undergone surgery, as well as physical therapy and treatment by a psychologist. Doe says the injury also caused her to be disqualified from proceeding with her acceptance into the New York City Police Academy.
She is also suing Fulton Park Associates and Prime Protective Bureau, who provides 24-hour security for the residents of Smurf Village, for failing to prevent the Nine Trey members from shooting the video in the common area and for not checking them for weapons before they were allowed to enter the area’s courtyard.
6ix9ine’s attorney, Dawn Florio, has not yet responded to Billboard’s request for comment.