(NewsNation) — In the wake of allegations from the infamous Club New York shooting in 1999, Jamal “Shyne” Barrow has spoken out, saying he’s the “fall guy” but isn’t placing the blame on Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“It opens wounds. Everyone knew all along I was the fall guy,” Barrow said. “My political enemies tried to make me into this criminal. Everyone knew I took the fall.”
Barrow maintained his innocence, saying, “All this time, I was defending myself. I did not shoot those people. I maintain that I never shot nobody.”
Barrow faced three counts of attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection to the shooting, the New York Times reported. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Shooting victim Natania Reuben says she is willing to have doctors remove a piece of a bullet that remains in her face to prove Combs shot her at the club.
“I’m willing to have a doctor remove a part of the 9 mm bullet in my face so that they can use it as evidence if need be for this trial,” Reuben said during an interview in March on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
“Who better to tell you what happened than the person who got shot smack dab in between my eyes?” asked Reuben.
Reuben said she has spent the past 25 years trying to get justice for the night she claims Combs shot her in the face at the club, not Barrow. She tells NewsNation she doesn’t believe Combs was properly charged, and she continues to fear for her life.
Infamous NYC club shooting backstory
Around 2:55 a.m. on Dec. 27, 1999, shots rang out at Club New York in Manhattan. Three people were struck by gunfire, sending all other clubgoers into a panic, according to a New York Times report that year. The victims of the shooting were reported as innocent bystanders and didn’t suffer any life-threatening injuries, the report said.
But while Combs, Barrow and Jennifer Lopez were all arrested in connection to the shooting, only Barrow was officially charged. Both Combs and Lopez were arrested on possible weapons charges but were ultimately not charged in connection to the shooting.
Reuben has remained adamant since the shooting that it was Combs who shot her in the face. She said she was facing them when they pulled out the guns and saw Combs shoot her in the nose. She filed a $130 million lawsuit for compensation against Combs in 2008 and settled in June 2011.
Reuben wants to see similar charges for the others she claims were involved in her shooting.
NewsNation’s Sean Noone and Devan Markham contributed to this report.