He was attacked by a gunman, alleged to be Darryl "Hommo" Baum, outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica, Queens. He went into a friend's car, but was asked to return to the house to get jewelry. His son was in the house, while his grandmother was in the front yard. Upon returning to the back seat of the car, another car pulled up nearby. An assailant then walked up to Jackson's left side with a 9mm handgun and fired nine shots at close range. He was shot nine times: in the hand (a round hit his right thumb and came out of his little finger), arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. The face wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth, and a small slur in his voice. His friend also sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. They were driven to the hospital where Jackson spent thirteen days. Baum, the alleged shooter, was killed three weeks later. Baum was also Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard.

Jackson recalled the incident saying, "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back.... I was scared the whole time.... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote, "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". He used a walker for the first six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital, he stayed in the Poconos with his then-girlfriend and son. His workout regime helped him attain his muscular physique.

At the time, 50 Cent was looking forward to the release of his first studio album with Columbia. "Power of the Dollar" was slated for a summer 2000 release, but after the shooting Columbia Records dropped him from their label. The album remains unreleased (officially), though it is well known on the streets in bootleg.

Circumstances of his alleged shooters death are unknown.

Original news story, as reported by MTV:

50 Cent Shot, Wounded In New York

50 Cent was wounded in a shooting which took place on Wednesday morning in Queens, New York, while the rapper was sitting in a parked car with an acquaintance, 22-year-old Curtis Brown.

The shooting took place on May 24 at 11:22 a.m. on 161st Street in the Jamaica section of Queens, according to a police spokesperson. 50 Cent, 24, was shot repeatedly in the legs and once in the jaw, while Brown sustained a hand wound. The men drove themselves to Jamaica Hospital after the shooting, where they were admitted.

Brown was released and 50 Cent was admitted for surgery Wednesday morning, according to Jamaica Hospital spokesperson Michael Hink. As of Wednesday morning, 50 Cent was in stable condition. Because of a family request that no more information be given to the press, his current condition is unknown.

Born Curtis Jackson, 50 Cent, a former boxer, is best known for last year's "How To Rob..." single, which comically described how the MC would stick up everyone from Timbaland to Master P.

Not everyone in the music industry took 50 Cent's jibes so lightly. On the heels of "How To Rob...", he released "Ghetto Qor'ran," a track that recounts stories about notorious New York hustlers. Several well-publicized incidents have taken place between 50 Cent and fellow Queens resident Ja Rule, including a scuffle between the two MCs in an Atlanta party for Ja Rule and an alleged stabbing incident at New York's Hit Factory recording studio.

50 Cent's publicist at Trackmasters was on vacation when MTV News tried to reach her for comment. Another publicist at Trackmasters was not aware of the shooting.

—L.V.R. Odiaga