The 21-year-old rapper Ankhal suffered multiple gunshot wounds during a shooting in Puerto Rico’s Fajardo region on Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Fajardo police department confirmed to Rolling Stone.
Police responded to a 911 call at 10:17 p.m. and arrived at Las Flores Avenue in the Florencio neighborhood in Fajardo, where they found Ankhal — whose real name is Anthony Mercado Diaz — and 25-year-old Jose De Leon with multiple gunshot wounds to their bodies. Ankhal and De Leon were in a vehicle being driven by a 24-year-old man. Paramedics took Ankhal and De León to a local hospital, but due to the severity of their injuries, they were transferred to Río Piedras Medical Center. Police say the investigation is still ongoing and they are looking into potential suspects. (Representatives for Ankhal declined to comment.)
Ankhal was signed to Carbon Fiber Music, co-founded by the rapper Farruko, who recently announced that he’s leaving secular music and dedicating his career to preaching the word of God. On Wednesday, he shared a photo of himself and Ankhal alongside an emotional caption in Spanish that read, “My son, because I have always seen you as my son with love and respect, I have not stopped praying for you since I found out what happened to you. I thank God that you are still alive.” He added, “I even feel guilty because I opened the doors to fame for you and even though I did it with good intentions, not everyone knows how to handle this.”
Ankhal has collaborated with Jhay Cortez, Myke Towers, Brray, and other major names in reggaeton. A leaked version of the remix of his song “Si Pepe” gained attention after Jhay Cortez dropped several references to the artist Rauw Alejandro in it. Billboard highlighted Ankhal as an artist to watch in 2022.
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