Drake含羞草研究社檚 sprawling Toronto mansion was surrounded by police on Tuesday after a security guard working outside the rapper含羞草研究社檚 residence was seriously injured in an overnight shooting.

Toronto police were searching for suspects who fled in a vehicle and said it was too early to comment on a motive. Insp. Paul Krawczyk said he was aware of the headline-grabbing feud between Drake and rapper Kendrick Lamar but made no connection to it and would not comment further.

Krawczyk said he could not confirm if Drake was home at the time of the shooting, but he said the rapper含羞草研究社檚 team was co-operating with investigators.

含羞草研究社淚t is so early in the investigation that we don含羞草研究社檛 have a motive at this time,含羞草研究社� Krawczyk said in an update outside Drake含羞草研究社檚 mansion.

含羞草研究社淭his is no different than any other investigation. It含羞草研究社檚 maybe more high-profile because there含羞草研究社檚 more people here, but we treat it like any other incident.含羞草研究社�

Representatives for Drake did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Yellow police tape fluttered in the breeze, cordoning off sections of the street outside the rapper含羞草研究社檚 home on Tuesday. Multiple police vehicles were seen in the area and officers could be seen walking around.

The shooting took place shortly after 2 a.m. outside Drake含羞草研究社檚 home in the affluent Bridle Path neighbourhood, police said.

Krawczyk said a security guard had been standing outside the gates at the front of the residence when he was shot from a vehicle that fled the scene. He said the guard was rushed to hospital in serious condition.

含羞草研究社淲e have individuals who obviously performed the shooting who were seen in a vehicle. I do not have a description of the vehicle or the suspects at this time,含羞草研究社� Krawczyk said.

He said he did not know whether the security guard was the target of the shooting or if the suspects tried to get into the sprawling mansion complex.

At Toronto含羞草研究社檚 Sunnybrook hospital, which is not far from Drake含羞草研究社檚 home, a volunteer on site said the security guard was in the critical care ward but a nurse said media weren含羞草研究社檛 allowed in the area. The volunteer said she had taken a police officer to the ward earlier in the day.

Police said they had collected video of the shooting but could not immediately identify the suspect vehicle. Krawczyk said police were dealing with 含羞草研究社渧ideo quality issues,含羞草研究社� and more information would be provided once they had a chance to analyze it further.

Asked about the shooting at an unrelated news conference Tuesday morning, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she hopes police 含羞草研究社渨ill find the people that are violating the law and catch them.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淎ny shooting is not welcome in this city,含羞草研究社� she said.

The shooting came as a long-simmering lyrical back-and-forth between Drake and Lamar escalated in the last week as both released tracks that included unsubstantiated allegations directed at each other.

Drake, born Aubrey Drake Graham, is one of the best-selling artists of the modern era. He含羞草研究社檚 released 13 No. 1 hits across his career, including 含羞草研究社淕od含羞草研究社檚 Plan,含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社淲ork含羞草研究社� featuring Rihanna, and 含羞草研究社淥ne Dance含羞草研究社� with Wizkid and Kyla.

Lamar first poked fun at Drake in an appearance on a 2013 single and while the two traded barbs starting late last year, the public conflict ratcheted up in March.

That含羞草研究社檚 when rappers Future and Metro Boomin released their album 含羞草研究社淲e Don含羞草研究社檛 Trust You含羞草研究社� featuring several veiled Drake insults and at least one overt one in a guest appearance by Lamar. A month later, Drake issued a diss track that took jabs at all three rappers, particularly Lamar, who Drake implied is lagging behind his contemporaries.

Drake then posted another diss track on his Instagram that used AI-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg to goad Lamar. Lamar issued a track accusing Drake of having plastic surgery and calling him a bad father.

Late Friday, Drake dropped a track that alleges infidelity and accuses Lamar of abusing his fianc茅e. Less than an hour later, Lamar released a track suggesting Drake has a secret daughter. Another Lamar diss track was released overnight with an image of Drake含羞草研究社檚 Toronto mansion as the cover and had Lamar rapping specific personal insults, including an accusation that Drake is attracted to underage girls.

Drake issued a new track Sunday claiming he fed rumours of a secret daughter as bait, adding: 含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檇 never look twice at no teenager.含羞草研究社�

Drake was named Spotify含羞草研究社檚 most streamed artist of the decade, has won five Grammy awards, and is often credited for ushering in the new era of hip-hop where rappers sing.