The inmate accused of stabbing rapper Tory Lanez multiple times in prison claims he acted in self-defense, alleging that Lanez had placed a bounty on his head. Speaking from prison during a recorded phone call, Santino Casio, who is already serving a life sentence, admitted to the stabbing but insisted it was a preemptive act born of fear for his own life.
Casio said he had heard through prison rumors that Lanez wanted him dead and had offered money for someone to carry it out. The situation escalated, according to Casio, when he encountered Lanez and noticed what he believed to be a weapon in the rapper’s pocket. Convinced he was in imminent danger, Casio says he attacked first, stabbing Lanez 14 times in what he described as an effort to protect himself, not to kill.
Despite the violence of the incident, Casio expressed mixed feelings about it, sounding somewhat remorseful but stopping short of a full apology. He also claimed to have sustained a stab wound to his own leg during the altercation, reinforcing his belief that Lanez had a weapon.
Casio described their prior relationship as relatively cordial, saying they had lived in adjacent cells at the California Correctional Institution at Tehachapi and got along before tensions escalated.
Tory Lanez was stabbed seven times in the back, four times in the torso, and three times in the head earlier this month. He was hospitalized and later returned to prison. The incident has sparked public concern, with figures such as rapper Drake and U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom to pardon Lanez, who is serving time for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
Lanez’s legal team dismissed Casio’s claims as “an absurd fabrication,” pointing to the attacker’s status as a life-sentenced inmate convicted of violent crimes. In a statement, they described the attack as “savage and ferocious,” arguing that it highlights the danger Lanez faces behind bars. They continue to assert his innocence and are calling for his immediate release, describing his incarceration as a “miscarriage of justice.”
