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Arts & Entertainment

Local Rapper Shot In Neck While Driving In Pasadena

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Local underground rapper, Phora, is recovering right now after someone shot him in his neck while he was driving on a Pasadena freeway.

The drive-by shooting took place around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday when the Orange County-based rapper, whose real name is Marco Archer, and his girlfriend were going eastbound on the 210 Freewaynear Fair Oaks Avenue, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Phora told KTLA that someone fired three shots from a silver BMW at him. The bullet went through his shoulder and was lodged in the back of his neck. His girlfriend, who was not hurt in the shooting, called 9-1-1 and Pasadena Police found Phora in the 300 block of South Lake Avenue after he pulled off of the freeway. They rushed him to a hospital to be treated for his wounds.

Yesterday, Phora Instagrammed a photo of himself with bandages to the back of his neck and shoulder. He wrote that the bullet barely missed his spinal chord, which would have paralyzed him. "I'm still in pain, still recovering and going through a LOT right now, but I'm grateful to be alive," Phora said.

The couple had just dropped off a friend in Santa Clarita and were heading home to Corona when the shooting occurred, Phora told KTLA. Police are still investigating the motive behind the incident since the couple told police they didn't know who would want to shoot at them.

"I believe they were trying to kill me," Phora told NBC Los Angeles. "I feel so blessed. It's like a dream and a nightmare at the same time."

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He told KTLA that this isn't the first time he's been attacked. He said that when he was 15, he was stabbed after hanging out with the wrong crowd. Phora said that ever since then he wanted to change his life around and focus on his music.

While there isn't a description of the gunman, authorities are searching for a gray or silver BMW or Infiniti G35, that could be a four-door, 2009 model.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4620 or (626) 744-4241.

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