For the second time in his 24-year run on “Law & Order: SVU,” Ice-T’s character, Det. Fin Tutuola, got shot in the 25th season finale. During an iced tea break while filming a National Iced Tea Day campaign, Ice-T unveiled his surprise. “Did you watch the last episode? ” he exclaimed, referencing the intense scene where Fin encounters the son of a criminal he helped incarcerate. Fans were relieved to see Fin survive the gripping episode. Ice-T and the cast are ready for another thrilling season of SVU.

Det. Fin Tutuola in Law & Order: SVU’s 25th season

As Law & Order: SVU’s 25th season was fast approaching, Ice-T found out quite what was in store for him. Ice-T’s character, Det. Fin Tutuola, was shot for the second time in his 24 years on the beloved NBC series.

Have you seen the last episode? ” Ice-T asks while taking a break from filming his National Iced Tea Day campaign with Raising Cane’s. Exactly 48 hours remain until the finale (and the episode the actor refers to) airs.

“I got shot!” he says, unable to help himself.

In the gripping episode “Duty to Hope” from Law & Order: SVU’s 25th season, Det. Fin Tutuola, portrayed by Ice-T, faces a life-threatening encounter outside his apartment. As Fin takes out the trash, he is confronted by Toby, the young son of a criminal he helped incarcerate, played by Spenser Granese. The boy, armed and furious, yells, “Don’t move!”

Fin, trying to calm him, says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid, take it easy,” and offers money, which Toby refuses. The boy reveals he found Fin’s address online and accuses him of putting his innocent father in jail. Fin attempts to deescalate the situation, pleading, “Toby, do me a favor. Please take your finger off that trigger.”

The tension escalates as Toby questions why he shouldn’t shoot Fin, who explains that doing so would only lead to both Toby and his father being imprisoned. Despite Fin’s reasoning, Toby, in his desperation, exclaims, “His lawyer’s stupid, you’re stupid! And if I shoot you, at least he’ll know how much I love him!”

In a split-second move, Fin lunges at Toby to disarm him, but the gun goes off, wounding Fin in the arm. Shocked by his actions, Toby drops the gun, and Fin, despite his injury, urges him to flee, saying, “Get out of here. I won’t say anything to anyone. Go!”

Ice-T hadn’t finished reading the script when he heard whispers about his character’s fate

“I read the pages. I didn’t know. As I’m reading the script, everyone is like, ‘You’re getting shot!’ I’m like, ‘What? That could be BAD,” he recalls, emphasizing the potential consequences of Fin’s injuries.

The good news is, that Ice-T says, “I lived through it.”

Fin was previously shot in the sixth season of the series back in 2004 when he was caught in the middle of an armed robbery in a bodega after a stakeout with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).

When Ice-T received the script for the 25th season in January, he said, “I was just looking at it, making sure I didn’t get shot and bleed out. But I have no idea what the season will be about.”

In an interview with EW at the time, Hargitay said, “He just wants to make sure he doesn’t die… As soon as I read this episode [in season 6], I went like this, Mariska,” recalled Ice-T, pretending to frantically flip through an imaginary script in front of him. “I was like… ‘Oh, wow… I’m alive!’”

Ironically, Ice-T couldn’t read the script fast enough for the season 25 finale – his costars beat him to it. Even after reassurance that his leading lady won’t allow him to die onscreen, the actor remains skeptical.

It was announced in March that SVU has been renewed for a record 26th season, with filming set to begin in mid-July. Ice-T says everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the show’s 26th season.

“We’re all set to go. We’re high. I think we picked up another stride last season-the show does this. But last season I think we caught another stride, another influx of viewers. We’re ready to go now. I think we could do 30.”