revealed that he was supposed to be in 's neighborhood on the night there was a .
The journalist, 60, discussed the close call at the 12th Annual Better Brothers Truth Awards on Saturday, telling TMZ that it was pure luck he avoided the frightening incident.
Rihanna's Beverly Hills home was targeted in a shooting earlier this month while she and her family were inside. The woman accused of committing the shooting was later hit with 14 charges, including attempted murder.
'I'm glad that Rihanna is okay after that crazy s**t happened at her house,' Lemon said at the event.
'Probably no one knows this, but I have a friend that lives very near Rihanna and I could have been there, because I was here in LA and we were supposed to stay with that friend. And it was frightening. And the friend had like damage to her house.'
'It's really scary,' he added, explaining that he skipped visiting his friend because the Los Angeles marathon made it impossible to get a car, so he went straight to the airport instead.
Don Lemon, 60, revealed that he was supposed to be in Rihanna's, 35, neighborhood on the night there was a shooting at the singer's home; Lemon seen March 21
'It's so random. And I know it's a cliche but life is really precious and you never know, so you need to celebrate every single day,' he concluded.
In a press conference on March 10, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced that the alleged shooter, Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, was charged with one count of attempted murder, ten counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, and three counts of shooting into an inhabited dwelling or camper.
Rihanna's Beverly Hills home was targeted in a shooting earlier this month while she and her family were inside; Rihanna seen celebrating Lemon's 60th birthday earlier this month
The journalist discussed the close call at the 12th Annual Better Brothers Los Angeles Truth Awards on Saturday (pictured), telling TMZ that it was pure luck he avoided the incident
'I have a friend that lives very near Rihanna and I could have been there, because I was here in LA and we were supposed to stay with that friend. And it was frightening,' he said
Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky, their three children and her mother had been on her property at the time of the shooting, along with two staff members; Rihanna and Rocky pictured in 2022
Although no one was injured in the shooting, a law enforcement official told the Los Angeles Times that Rihanna and Rocky 'easily could have been hit.'
Ortiz's arraignment is set for March 26.
The Los Angeles DA announced in his press conference that Judge Theresa McGonigle had set Ortiz's bail at $1,875,000.
In the event that she should make bail, Ortiz was also ordered to stay away from Rihanna and Rocky.
In addition to issuing the protective order, Judge McGonigle ordered Ortiz to surrender all of her firearms.
Jim McDonnell, chief of the LAPD, said during a crime briefing earlier this month that the motive for the shooting has not been established, but the investigation by the LAPD’s Robbery–Homicide Division is ongoing.
Ortiz has previously shared messages online directly targeting Rihanna, the Daily Mail has revealed.
She shared seething posts criticizing the hitmaker on Facebook, including one in which she suggested Rihanna had spoken negatively about her, though no connection between the women has been established.
She also shared videos in which she discussed Rihanna's death and made disturbing threats toward the singer.
The Daily Mail has also revealed that Ortiz was previously arrested for domestic violence, careless driving and violating pretrial release conditions in Florida.
The woman accused of committing the shooting, Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, was later hit with 14 charges, including attempted murder; Ortiz is pictured in a 2023 mugshot
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Lemon shared a selfie with Rihanna while celebrating his 60th birthday.
'Birthday hijinks with my girl Rihanna,' he captioned the photo, setting it to her 2011 hit Birthday Cake.
The former CNN star is still after being charged over his involvement in a January protest at a St. Paul church, where demonstrators disrupted a service. Lemon has pleaded not guilty.
The protest had been against United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations then occurring in the Twin Cities. One of the pastors is an official with the local ICE field office.
