LOS ANGELES - Tragedy struck late last night as controversial musician Aaron Carter was shot three times, twice in the torso and once in the head, while exiting a Tommy Gun label party near Hollywood and Vine.

Carter was best known for his hit single "Bitch On My Nutz," from the album "Southside Don," a collaborative effort with underground artists Lil' Romeo and Bootsy Collins. He was currently working on a new album while battling the legal fallout from last year's scandal, in which a video tape emerged showing Carter engaging in sexual congress with a 14-year old.

A product of the hard streets of Compton, where he made a name for himself with his gritty, profanity-laced freestyle lyrics, Carter was the best-selling independent urban musician of 2003. His fans, from Oakland, California to the Bronx, are legion -- millions grieve even as they demand a thorough investigation by the LAPD.

The shooter, firing from the passenger seat of a white Escalade, has so far only been identified as a white female with shoulder-length brown hair, approximately 5'4", 20-25-years old, with unusually large breasts. Police are not ruling out a hit ordered by East Coast gang rivals.