French Montana and members of his team were desperate to find safety in the seconds following the chaos of gunfire in Miami Gardens ... ducking into a fast food joint.
We've obtained video from inside a KFC restaurant where French and others gathered to find safe shelter. French isn't saying much in the clip, but you see him peering outside toward the scene.
A witness inside the restaurant tells us French remained there for 30 to 40 minutes, while cops arrived and victims were taken to the hospital.
As we reported, as many as 10 people were hit by bullets Thursday night when shots rang out into a crowd of people who had gathered at The Licking restaurant to celebrate the release of French's new mixtape, "Coke Boys 6: Money Heist Edition."
It's unclear what led to the shooting, but one witness on the scene tells us they believe it was the result of an attempted robbery during the celebration.
A rep for French confirmed to us he was not injured in the melee, and everyone is expected to survive ... including a bodyguard who was listed in critical condition.
In a statement Friday, French said, "Last night, I was in Miami celebrating the release of my CB6 mixtape w/ friends at a local restaurant. We unfortunately were at the wrong place, at the wrong time when an incident took place that left people hurt. Our thoughts & prayers are w/ the victims & families at this time."
Cops have not yet made an arrest.