Joe Malinconico and Andrew Wyrich

Paterson Press and NorthJersey.com

PATERSON — After working through the night, Paterson police detectives arrested a 36-year-old city man on assault and gun charges early Monday in connection with the shooting involving Paterson hip-hop star Fetty Wap, authorities said.

The suspect, Raheem Thomas, was apprehended near his home on North Third Street, after a dispute that police say took place inside an all-night South Paterson delicatessen between Fetty Wap and his friends and another group.

Thomas was charged with several gun crimes stemming from the fight inside the deli, but he was not accused of any offenses involving the shooting that took place outside the business, police said.

Three people were wounded in the incident, police said. Police Capt. Patrick Murray confirmed that Thomas was not among the wounded.

Murray would not say whether the three shooting victims were on different sides in the fight. Investigators are still looking for suspects in the case.

"The investigators worked tirelessly to piece together this investigation and will continue accordingly," Police Director Jerry Speziale said in a statement.

Fetty Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, was not injured in the incident, police said. None of the people who were shot suffered life-threatening wounds, police said.

Paterson Deputy Police Chief Troy Oswald confirmed that Fetty Wap and several of his friends were involved in the shooting, which happened shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday at a deli on Montclair Avenue. Oswald said the hip-hop star and his friends are not suspects in the shooting or a robbery that happened during the incident.

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Law enforcement sources confirmed on Monday that Thomas is known as "Fuzz," a hip-hop artist known to have a feud with Fetty Wap. On a Twitter account believed to belong to Thomas, he posted that he wanted to "set the record straight" and that he did not steal a gold chain from Fetty Wap. An Instagram post that accompanied the tweet has since been deleted.

Monday morning was business as usual for Montclair Deli, a small shop on the corner of Montclair and Paxton that Fetty Wap has visited in the past.

The shop, which sits between a long line of apartments that were quiet on Monday morning, is open all day and night and sells everyday items like milk, bread and snacks, in addition to sandwiches and coffee.

One of the deli's clerks, who was not working at the time of the shooting and declined to give his name, said he had seen Fetty Wap at the store on several occasions, before and after the rapper became a hip-hop artist.

"I've seen him a few times, but it wasn't an everyday thing," the clerk said from behind the counter as people grabbed coffee and breakfast sandwiches shortly before 9 a.m.

Despite Sunday's incident, the clerk said Monday was fairly typical, with a normal stream of customers coming in for coffee and breakfast despite the heavy rain.

The deli, which has aisles full of normal grocery fare, has several security cameras throughout the store.

Authorities would not confirm reports that the incident involved another hip-hop artist. Police did not provide details on the victims' connection to Fetty Wap, nor did they reveal the nature of the dispute that led to the shooting.

Two of the victims were taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson and a third was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center, police said.