His attorney Lewis Fusco released a statement announcing the death Sunday, just hours after his client passed. According to the statement ... Julio -- whose real name was Charles Jones -- was in town to celebrate his birthday.

While he was staying at an AirBnb at first ... Fusco cites law enforcement reports which say he was kicked out of his accommodations for exceeding the maximum occupancy and checked in to a local Holiday Inn.

Just before 5 AM ET, an incident occurred in the hotel parking lot ... with Julio's lawyers saying the rapper was reportedly ambushed and killed. They're asking for privacy for the family at this time.

Tampa Police said they believe Jones was the victim in the shooting ... though they added they'd have to wait for the Medical Examiner's Office to confirm.

Three other people were reportedly shot during the ambush and transported to the hospital. They are all expected to make a full recovery, and cops are investigating the cause of the shooting. We've reached out to law enforcement for more details ... so far, no word back.

Julio Foolio first rose to prominence back in 2018 with his debut album "6toven." He's subsequently released a series of albums culminating in this year's "Resurrection" which he dropped back in April.

His lyrics regularly referenced murders from around the Jacksonville area reportedly including gang-related slayings. He was shot in the foot in another incident last year.

He was 26.