The woman charged with shooting at Rihanna’s home has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, and the singer has described the incident.
Florida-based Ivanna Lisette Ortiz is accused of firing a semiautomatic rifle at the singer’s Los Angeles mansion at 13:15 local time on March 8, when she and her partner A$AP Rocky were at home. Nobody was injured.
Appearing in court on March 10, in addition to the murder charge, police said Ortiz had also been charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited vehicle or dwelling.
The three shooting charges all related to Rihanna’s house, her trailer, which she was inside at the time, and her neighbour’s property. The assault charges cover Rihanna, her family, two members of staff, and two people in the neighbouring house, according to Sky News.
Ortiz could face a life sentence, and remained in detention when she entered a not guilty plea via her attorney yesterday (Wednesday March 25) at the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She is on bail for $1.87million (£1.4million).
🚨 Rihanna’s house shooting suspect pleads not guilty in court. https://t.co/0HIfOq1uQo pic.twitter.com/lBIv79BKTz
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 25, 2026
Her attorney tried to reduce her bail, but prosecutor Alexander Bott highlighted that the defendant is accused of firing approximately 20-rounds from the weapon, and put lives at risk. Bott also argued that Ortiz wore a wig at the time – suggesting that she had planned out the crime ahead of time and wanted to wear a disguise.
The criminal complaint lists Robyn Fenty (Rihanna) and Rakim Mayers (A$AP Rocky) as victims, as well as their three children, Rihanna’s mother Monica, and others, as per BBC News. Ortiz’s Tesla was found at a shopping mall eight miles away from Rihanna’s home, and she was taken into custody.
While she has pleaded not guilty, if she is convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
According to a new police report (obtained by Daily Mail), the singer was inside an Airstream trailer on the grounds of her home when she heard what sounded like “10 loud bangs on metal”.
A$AP Rocky was in the trailer at the time, and it was when Rihanna looked outside that she realised that the noise she heard were gunshots, and she found bullet holes in the trailer’s windshield, where she had reportedly been stood just seconds earlier.
The report also states that Rihanna grabbed her partner “out of bed, told him they were being shot at, and pushed both of them to the ground”, and Rocky also told police that he awoke to his partner telling him “They shooting at us”.
As per the Daily Mail report, the document also recalls Rihanna telling officers after the incident that she had received death threats online but none seemed to be tied to the shooting, and A$AP Rocky detailed an incident involving a female stalker in the past.
