Oh What A Knight

This story may speak for itself...

Police had no suspects Sunday in the shooting of rap mogul Suge Knight at an MTV awards party — a typical development in the street-justice world of rap.

Knight, 40, was shot once in the upper right leg shortly after midnight Saturday at a star-studded bash hosted by Kanye West. He was scheduled for surgery to remove a bullet from his leg and repair a broken bone.

A police report described the shooter only as a black male wearing a pink shirt. "We are interviewing all the witnesses we can to hopefully develop a composite," Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said.

He told The Miami Herald that the investigation was being hampered by witnesses' unwillingness to talk. "We don't have any physical description. We don't know how many subjects were involved, which is mind boggling, with all those people around," Hernandez said.

A group of Knight's friends waiting at the hospital said he was alert and talkative after the shooting. His attorneys told hospital officials not to release any information on his condition, said hospital spokeswoman Laurie Oliva. Knight's attorney in Los Angeles, Dermot Givens, did not return a telephone call.

West's party Saturday night at the Shore Club hotel in Miami Beach was one of the most coveted invites of the evening. A throng gathered trying to get in, and revelers mingled in the courtyard while celebs including Jessica Alba, Eddie Murphy, Paris Hilton, Game and The Black Eyed Peas were entertained in the VIP room.

Several witnesses said Knight was sitting at a VIP table when a man walked up and opened fire. No one else was injured. Screaming guests fled the party, streaming outside or taking cover in other parts of the hotel.

At the awards ceremony Sunday night, one rap star downplayed the shooting.

"I don't think that what happened was any different than at any other event where you have a lot of people," said David Banner. "It's tragic that it happened and that the media magnified this so much."

Others felt differently.

"It's disturbing that someone can let off six shots in a packed club and can escape without being arrested," said Elliott Wilson, editor in chief of the rap magazine XXL. "The hip-hop community doesn't trust the police to confide info to them, and in turn the police have done little to make us feel like they give a damn about our safety. It's a vicious cycle."

Let me get this straight -- the people being blamed for what happened here are (a) the media and (b) the cops.

Look, I'm willing to blame the media for just about anything, but a shooting taking place at a celebrity-filled bash during celebrations for a major awards show (which are basically an excuse for celebrities to get together and bask in media coverage anyway) is news. They can ignore a lot of things (and they do), but this would be tough to forget.

As for blaming the cops, this is a load of utter hooey. I realize the cops haven't arrested the killers of other rap stars, but withholding information from them is more likely to dissuade them from taking these crimes seriously.

With that being said... no one has reported on the most important question. Was Jessica Alba okay?