The criminal case surrounding the shooting at Rihanna’s home is moving forward after a Los Angeles grand jury indicted 36-year-old Ivanna Lisette Ortiz on 14 felony counts, including attempted murder.
According to the Associated Press, the indictment against the Orlando, Florida, woman was unsealed Wednesday, September 30. Ortiz appeared in court in jail clothing and spoke only with her attorney, who entered a not guilty plea on her behalf. A judge ordered her held on $2.6 million bail.
The indictment marks a major development in the Rihanna shooting case after months of uncertainty over whether Ortiz was mentally competent to stand trial. According to the Associated Press, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi ruled Tuesday that Ortiz was competent, allowing criminal proceedings to resume after psychiatric evaluations temporarily halted the case. The reports detailing those evaluations remain sealed.
Prosecutors have taken an aggressive position on the allegations.
“This is a person who wanted to kill Rihanna,” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said outside court, according to the Associated Press. “Everyone else was collateral damage.”
Authorities allege the Rihanna shooting case began on March 8, when Ortiz drove a Tesla from Florida to the Los Angeles area and arrived outside the property Rihanna shares with A$AP Rocky and their children. According to the Associated Press, investigators say Ortiz pointed an AR-15-style rifle from the vehicle and fired at least 20 rounds toward the property and a neighboring residence.
No one was injured.
The Associated Press reported that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were inside an Airstream trailer on the property when bullets struck it. Their three children were inside the main home with their nanny, and investigators found a bullet impact on the exterior wall of the second-floor nursery. Rihanna’s mother and staff members were also on the property.
A police report later provided additional details about what Rihanna told investigators happened inside the trailer. According to the Associated Press, Rihanna said Rocky was sleeping when she heard a series of loud sounds against the trailer. After noticing bullet holes, she woke him, got onto the floor with him, and then went into the main house to check on their children and others inside.
Police arrested Ortiz later that day after tracking her vehicle to Sherman Oaks. The Associated Press reported that authorities said she was found with the rifle, additional ammunition, and a wig prosecutors described as a disguise.
Investigators said Ortiz made one statement after her arrest.
“I wasn’t attempting murder.”
The grand jury indictment now replaces the earlier charges filed directly by prosecutors in the Rihanna shooting case. According to the Associated Press, using a grand jury indictment also allows prosecutors to move ahead without a preliminary hearing, the public court proceeding where a judge would ordinarily determine whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence for the case to continue toward trial.
Ortiz is now charged with attempted murder, 10 counts of assault with an assault weapon, and three counts involving gunfire at inhabited property or vehicles, according to the Associated Press. She could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. The allegations remain unproven, and Ortiz has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities have not publicly established a motive or confirmed any personal relationship between Ortiz and Rihanna. The Los Angeles Times previously reported that investigators were examining social media activity attributed to Ortiz in the weeks before the shooting, including posts referencing Rihanna. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at the time that investigators were still trying to determine whether the two women had ever crossed paths.
Records surrounding Ortiz’s prior history have also been described differently by various reports. The Associated Press reported that authorities said Ortiz had no prior police record and noted that she had worked as a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade. The Los Angeles Times separately reported prior Florida arrests involving allegations including careless driving and domestic violence, while noting it was unclear whether those arrests resulted in criminal convictions.
The alleged attack happened as Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were raising their three children, including sons RZA and Riot and daughter Rocki Irish Mayers. According to the Associated Press, the couple announced Rocki’s birth in September 2025.
The incident also came years after another security case involving Rihanna. The Associated Press reported that a man entered a different Rihanna residence in the Hollywood Hills in 2018 and remained there for hours while she was away. He later pleaded no contest to stalking and vandalism charges and was sentenced to probation.
With the competency question resolved and the grand jury indictment now unsealed, prosecutors can move the Rihanna shooting case toward trial while Ortiz continues to contest the charges against her.
