Murder of Tupac Shakur

On the night of September 7, 1996, rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas Strip while sitting in the passenger seat of a BMW 750iL driven by Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge" Knight. Shakur, 25, was struck by four rounds — two in the chest, one in the arm, and one in the thigh. He was transported to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he underwent multiple surgeries but never regained consciousness. He died six days later, on September 13, 1996, of internal bleeding caused by the gunshot wounds.

Tupac Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, New York City, to Afeni Shakur, a Black Panther activist. He became one of the best-selling and most influential rappers of all time, known for albums including "All Eyez on Me" and "Me Against the World." His music addressed systemic inequality, police brutality, and inner-city violence, and he was also an accomplished actor, appearing in films including "Juice" and "Poetic Justice."

The shooting occurred after Shakur and Knight attended the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon heavyweight championship fight at the MGM Grand Hotel. After the fight, Shakur and members of his entourage were involved in an altercation in the MGM Grand lobby with Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips gang. Security camera footage captured Shakur and several others kicking and punching Anderson.

Later that evening, Shakur and Knight left the hotel in a convoy of vehicles heading to Club 662, a nightclub owned by Knight. At approximately 11:15 p.m., while the BMW was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, a white Cadillac pulled alongside the passenger side. An occupant of the Cadillac opened fire with a .40-caliber Glock pistol, striking Shakur multiple times. Knight was grazed by a bullet fragment but was not seriously injured.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's investigation was hampered by a lack of cooperation from witnesses. Members of the Death Row Records entourage, including Knight, declined to provide information to police. The East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which had been escalating for years, was widely speculated to be connected to the shooting, though direct evidence was not established at the time.

[The murder remained unsolved for over 25 years.](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/12/tupac-shakur-20th-anniversary-death-hip-hop-legend) Various theories implicated Orlando Anderson, members of the Southside Crips, associates of Bad Boy Records, and even individuals within Death Row Records itself. Anderson, the man beaten by Shakur at the MGM Grand, was long considered the primary suspect but was never charged. Anderson was killed in an unrelated gang shooting in Compton, California, in May 1998.

Shakur's death, occurring in the context of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry, heightened tensions in the hip-hop community. Six months later, on March 9, 1997, his rival Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace was murdered in a similar drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.

The investigation into Tupac Shakur's murder remained open but largely inactive for decades. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department periodically reviewed evidence but made no arrests until 2023.

[On September 29, 2023 — more than 27 years after the shooting — a Las Vegas grand jury indicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis on one count of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.](https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202879386/tupac-shakur-murder-arrest-las-vegas) Davis, a former leader of the Southside Crips in Compton, had publicly discussed his involvement in the shooting in interviews, a memoir, and a documentary, claiming he was present in the Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired. Davis stated that the shooter was his nephew, Orlando Anderson, who is deceased.

[Davis was arrested on September 29, 2023, near his home in Henderson, Nevada.](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66965706) He pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors alleged that Davis had orchestrated the shooting as retaliation for the beating of Anderson at the MGM Grand. If convicted, Davis faces a sentence of life in prison with or without the possibility of parole.

As of 2024, Davis's trial was pending. [His attorneys have argued that the prosecution's case relies heavily on Davis's own public statements and lacks independent corroborating evidence.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/09/30/tupac-shakur-murder-keffe-d-investigation/)

Tupac Shakur's cultural legacy has only grown since his death. He has sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.