Tory Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting fellow hip-hop artist Megan Thee Stallion. He was stabbed approximately 16 times by a fellow inmate using a homemade shank at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi on May 12, 2025. The assault resulted in stab wounds to his face, head, torso, and back, causing permanent scarring and two collapsed lungs.
Lanez was airlifted to a hospital, placed on a ventilator, and after discharge was transferred to California Men's Colony. In his lawsuit, Lanez alleges that prison officials knowingly housed him with the inmate who attacked him, contravening correction protocols for separating inmates by risk factors. He claims prison staff were not present right away during the attack, and it is unknown why the response was delayed.
According to Lanez, evidence shows deliberate indifference to foreseeable violence by prison officials. The California Correctional Institution was among several prisons where high-security sections faced movement restrictions in March 2025 due to a surge in violence against staff and incarcerated persons. Lanez also alleges that prison officials illegally seized books of original, unpublished lyrics with substantial commercial value while he was in the hospital.
His lawsuit demands the immediate return of these song books. Lanez suggested in a statement that the attack might have been connected to stealing his valuable intellectual property and noted his celebrity status makes this a public interest case. The identity and motive of the inmate who stabbed Lanez remain unclear, and the current status of the lawsuit is not confirmed.