Rihanna is "humbled" by God's mercy as A$AP Rocky is acquitted of gun assault charge in court's verdict

Rihanna took to her Instagram stories to express gratitude to God after her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky, was found not guilty of a gun assault charge during an altercation in Hollywood in 2021.

In her Instagram story, she posted,

"THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD AND GOD ALONE! THANKFUL. HUMBLED BY HIS MERCY!"

The rapper was charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm against his former friend Terell Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli.

Rihanna was seen breaking down as the verdict was read out on February 18 since Rocky would have faced 24 years in prison if convicted. Rocky was seen running over and diving into Rihanna's arms immediately after the verdict was declared. While speaking to the jury, Rocky said before leaving the courtroom,

"Thanks y'all for saving my life."

The rapper was later spotted enjoying a celebratory dinner with Riri in Beverly Hills.

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What happened between A$AP Rocky and Terrell Ephron

Terrell Ephron alleged that Rocky arrived with two men, ASAP Illz and ASAP Twelvy, adding that A$AP Rocky opened fire at him. He added that the incident took place on November 6, 2021, on a Hollywood Street and that one of the shots grazed his knuckles.

Rocky, while denying the charges, argued that the weapon was a prop gun and Ephron was only after his money.

A$AP Rocky faced two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and rejected a plea deal last month. The prosecution presented a surveillance video where Rocky could be seen holding a gun before the shooting. While testifying, Terrell said,

"The whole thing was like a movie, he kind of like pointed down and he shot the first shot."

Twelvy and other defense witnesses testified that Rocky had fired blanks from a prop gun, which he had started carrying months earlier after a security adviser recommended it to him. The defense witnesses also claimed that Ephron knew about the fun being fake.

The defense mentioned that Rocky intended to defend Illz from being physically attacked by Ephron and that the latter had exaggerated events to extort the rapper.

Ephron spent several days testifying at the trial, including sitting for a contentious cross-examination by Tacopina. During the examination, he said,

"I'm not on trial. I've been here for five days, dealing with this man. i've been looking stupid for five days."

A$AP Rocky is scheduled to release his first solo album in nearly a decade and is set to co-headline Los Angeles' Rolling Loud festival in March 2025. He will also be seen alongside Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's upcoming film, Highest 2 Lowest.