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Young Pappy Mixtape Release Party Led to SWAT Standoff, Rapper Charged

 Shaquon Thomas' mixtape release party was broken up after gunshots were heard, police said.
Shaquon Thomas' mixtape release party was broken up after gunshots were heard, police said.
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DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard (inset:YouTube)

EDGEWATER — A North Side rapper growing in popularity was hosting a release party for his new mixtape when a gun went off inside the home, setting off a five-hour standoff with a SWAT team over the weekend on a quiet residential street.

Shaquon Thomas, aka Young Pappy, just released his new tape, 2 Cups Part 2 of Everything, and threw the party in the 6300 block of North Lakewood Avenue. Through his agent, Thomas declined to comment Monday.

Police said officers were conducting a regular traffic stop outside the home, where Thomas' father has been known to reside, when they heard gunshots about 11:20 p.m.

Initial reports indicated shots were fired at police from the nearby second-floor apartment, police said. Further investigation revealed that shots came from the rear of the building and were not directed at officers, police said.

Police said the man originally believed to be the shooter, along with other party goers, barricaded themselves in the building.

Five hours later, SWAT team members forced their way into the apartment. Police said everyone surrendered peacefully.

Neighbors posted photos to social media of camouflage-clad officers handcuffing people in the street. One photo showed an officer crouching in an alleyway, wielding a rifle.

Police said a gun was recovered at the apartment and 31 people were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct: 17 women, one girl and 13 men.

Thomas, 19, was one of those charged, said Janel Sedevic, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman, on Monday.

Ben Woodard says Young Pappy is no stranger to North Side police:

Police have said the rapper was the target of two shootings since 2014 that left innocent bystanders William Lewis, 28, and Markeyo Carr, 17, dead.

Concerns over the incidents led neighbors to push for inspections of the home where the party took place. City officials said Monday they were going to follow up after the home failed an inspection in October.

In February, Thomas pleaded guilty to a reckless conduct charge and was released after 29 days in lockup.

Thomas survived a shooting attempt last year that left Carr dead outside a Rogers Park McDonald's, and later was unscathed when a bullet intended for him instead killed Lewis, who was waiting for a bus, police have said.

On Jan. 14, Thomas allegedly went back to that same McDonald's at 6740 N. Clark St., where he got in a fight with a man who later was shot across the street from the restaurant, according to a police report.

The rapper could be seen on surveillance camera footage "verbally assaulting" the man who later was shot, according to a police report. The commotion caused customers to rush out of the restaurant.

After the altercation, officers responded to shots fired in the 1600 block of West Columbia Avenue, where they found the victim, the report said.

Thomas was arrested at his mother's Rogers Park home shortly after. He was also charged with felony possession of marijuana, but that charge was dropped after a finding of no probable cause, according to court records.

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