Tory Lanez Stabbing Suspect Is Serving Life in Prison for Murder

The man accused of stabbing Tory Lanez has been identified as Santino Casio, who is serving a life sentence for murder.

Lanez was stabbed 14 times on Monday, May 12, his team confirmed in a statement shared on Instagram. He was allegedly attacked by Casio at a housing unit in the California Correctional Institution (CCI) in Tehachapi at around 7:20 a.m. local time, Pedro Calderón Michel, Deputy Press Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, May 13.

Staff “immediately responded, activated 911 and began medical aid,” Michel added.

Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was rushed to a nearby hospital. Casio was put in restricted housing pending an investigation. The CCI Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office are leading the investigation, per Michel.

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The New York Post was the first to report.

Casio has been in prison in Los Angeles County since February 2004. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, personal use of a dangerous or deadly weapon, and inflicting great bodily injury. 

In January 2008, Casio was sentenced by Imperial County to six years for assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon of force likely to cause great bodily injury, an in-prison offense, and again in June 2018 for two years for possession/Manufacture of a deadly weapon by a prisoner, an in-prison offense.

Lanez suffered several stab wounds, including seven in his back, four in his torso, two in the back of his head and one on the left side of his face, according to Monday’s statement on his Instagram feed.

His lungs had collapsed, and he was placed on a breathing apparatus; however, at the time the statement was released, he was “breathing on his own.”

“Despite being in pain, he is talking normally, in good spirits, and deeply thankful to God that he is pulling through,” the message continued, adding that Lanez was grateful for fans’ “continued prayers and support.”

Lanez is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in 2020.

He was convicted of all three charges related to the crime — assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence — in December 2022.