Rick Ross’s Son Allegedly Beaten as 50 Cent and Tia Kemp Trade Barbs
WHO:
New York Post - Rick Ross was identified as 50 years old.
New York Post - Police identified the alleged assailant as Don Roberts, 20.
New York Post - William Roberts III is a football player at Bethune-Cookman University.
TMZ - William Roberts III, identified as Rick Ross’ son, was allegedly involved in the incident.
TMZ - A gunman and a woman were also involved, according to police.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent and Tia Kemp exchanged insults amid a new feud.
AllHipHop - Rick Ross was identified as William Roberts III’s father.
WHAT:
AllHipHop - 50 Cent shared an innocence claim and a personal thank-you on Instagram from the man accused of attacking Rick Ross’ son.
New York Post - Ross was arrested shortly before his son’s alleged attack, according to the article.
WESH - Police said the alleged attacker did not fire the gun.
New York Post - Rick Ross was arrested on charges of battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony, and battery by intentionally touching, striking, or causing bodily harm against a person’s will, a first-degree misdemeanor.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent reportedly enlisted lawyers after Tia Kemp targeted his son, Sire, escalating their social media dispute into a potential legal battle.
New York Post - Don Roberts was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; he was held at the Volusia County Branch Jail without bond.
New York Post - William Roberts III identified the alleged assailant in a police photo lineup.
New York Post - The suspect allegedly shouted, “I don’t car who your daddy is, I’ll kill you right here,” before striking Roberts III with a tan-colored handgun and driving away.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent reportedly offered to bail out the man accused of pistol-whipping Rick Ross’ son.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent mocked Rick Ross’ past work as a correctional officer.
TMZ - William Roberts III was allegedly pistol-whipped by a gunman.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent revived a 2009 magazine photo shoot featuring Tia Kemp as the dispute unfolded.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent and Tia Kemp traded “vicious insults” following the alleged pistol-whipping of Rick Ross’ son.
WHERE:
WESH - The alleged attack occurred outside Bethune-Cookman University, near its campus in Daytona Beach.
New York Post - The incident occurred on a street in Daytona Beach.
TMZ - The alleged pistol-whipping took place in Florida.
WHEN:
New York Post - The article said Ross was arrested on October 1.
New York Post - The alleged attack occurred around 9:40 p.m.
New York Post - Ross was scheduled to appear in court on October 22.
WHY:
New York Post - Roberts III told police he believed Don Roberts had previously dated the woman he was speaking to.
TMZ - Police said the alleged dispute was about a woman.
TMZ - According to the police report obtained by TMZ, William Roberts III was hanging out with the woman before the incident.
HOW:
AllHipHop - 50 Cent reportedly enlisted lawyers after Tia Kemp targeted his son, Sire, escalating their social-media feud into a potential legal battle.
WESH - Police said the two men have similar names but are different individuals.
TMZ - The gunman allegedly pistol-whipped William Roberts III.
AllHipHop - 50 Cent revived the old magazine photo shoot in connection with the new feud.
(UPDATED October 22, 2026 15:02 UTC)
Police say William Roberts III, the son of rapper Rick Ross and a football player at Bethune-Cookman University, was pistol-whipped near the campus in Daytona Beach. The alleged attack, reportedly over a woman Roberts was talking with, happened around 9:40 p.m. Police say the suspect did not fire the gun. Roberts identified Don Roberts, 20, in a photo lineup; authorities say the suspect threatened to kill him, struck him with a handgun, and drove away. Don Roberts faces aggravated assault and aggravated battery charges and is being held without bond. Police stress that he is a different person from William Roberts III, despite their similar names. The incident has fueled a social-media feud between 50 Cent and Tia Kemp, with insults exchanged and 50 Cent reportedly offering to bail out the accused man. Rick Ross also faces separate battery charges.
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(UPDATED October 22, 2026 13:17 UTC)
Police say Rick Ross’ son, William Roberts III, was pistol-whipped outside Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. The alleged attacker, identified as 20-year-old Don Roberts, was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and held without bond. Police say the incident stemmed from a dispute over a woman Roberts III was speaking with, who Don Roberts may have previously dated. Roberts III identified the suspect in a photo lineup. The alleged attacker reportedly threatened to kill him, struck him with a handgun, then drove away; police said he did not fire the weapon. Authorities stressed that Don Roberts and Roberts III have similar names but are different people. Separately, Ross was arrested on battery charges. The alleged attack also fueled a social-media feud between 50 Cent and Tia Kemp, with 50 Cent reportedly offering to bail out the accused man and mocking Ross.
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(UPDATED October 22, 2026 11:07 UTC)
Police say William Roberts III, Rick Ross’ son and a Bethune-Cookman University football player, was allegedly struck with a handgun outside the campus in Daytona Beach. The attack reportedly followed a dispute about a woman he was speaking with. Roberts III identified the alleged assailant in a police lineup as Don Roberts, 20; police stressed that the two men have similar names but are different people. Don Roberts was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and held without bond. Police said the alleged attacker did not fire the gun. The case has spilled into a separate social media feud, with 50 Cent and Tia Kemp trading insults after Kemp targeted 50 Cent’s son. 50 Cent reportedly offered to bail out the accused man and mocked Rick Ross’ past work as a correctional officer.
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(UPDATED October 22, 2026 01:21 UTC)
Police say William Roberts III, a Bethune-Cookman football player and Rick Ross’ son, was pistol-whipped during an altercation on a Daytona Beach street. Roberts told investigators he believed the alleged assailant, Don Roberts, had previously dated the woman he was speaking with. Police say the suspect shouted a threat, struck Roberts with a tan handgun, then drove away. Roberts identified Don Roberts in a photo lineup. Don Roberts, 20, was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and was held without bond. The incident also fueled a social media feud between 50 Cent and Tia Kemp, who exchanged insults. 50 Cent reportedly offered to bail out the accused man and mocked Ross’ past as a correctional officer. Separately, Rick Ross was arrested on battery charges, including battery by strangulation.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 23:15 UTC)
Police in Daytona Beach have charged 20-year-old Don Roberts in the alleged pistol-whipping of William Roberts III, the son of rapper Rick Ross. Roberts III told police he was speaking with a woman when Don Roberts confronted him, apparently believing Roberts had previously dated her. The suspect allegedly threatened to kill him, struck him with a tan handgun, then drove away. Roberts III later identified Don Roberts in a police photo lineup. Don Roberts faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and is being held without bond. Police said a gunman and a woman were involved in the incident. As the case drew attention, rapper 50 Cent reportedly offered to bail out the accused man and mocked Rick Ross’s past as a correctional officer. He also traded insults with Tia Kemp, Ross’s former partner, reviving an old magazine photo shoot.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 20:15 UTC)
Police say William Roberts III, the son of rapper Rick Ross, was allegedly pistol-whipped by a gunman in Florida. A woman was also involved, and authorities said the dispute centered on her. According to the police report, Roberts had been spending time with the woman before the incident. The alleged assault has spilled into a separate public feud involving 50 Cent and Tia Kemp, who have traded sharp insults. As the dispute unfolded, 50 Cent brought back a magazine photo shoot featuring Kemp from 2009. He also reportedly offered to bail out the man accused of attacking Roberts. In a further jab, 50 Cent mocked Ross’ past work as a correctional officer. Police say the gunman and the woman were involved in the incident, but the allegations have not been presented here as proven facts.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 19:17 UTC)
Rick Ross’ son, William Roberts III, was allegedly pistol-whipped by a gunman during an incident in Florida. Police said a woman was also involved and that the dispute was about her. According to the police report, Roberts had been spending time with the woman before the alleged attack. The incident was followed by a new feud between 50 Cent and Tia Kemp, who traded vicious insults online. As their dispute unfolded, 50 Cent brought back a magazine photo shoot featuring Kemp from 2009. Ross was identified as Roberts’ father. The available details describe the alleged attack and the insults exchanged afterward, but do not establish that the feud was connected to the dispute that police said led to the incident.