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in: Nevada, 1996, Murder,
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Tupac Shakur

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Tupac and suge knight

Tupac and Suge Knight on the night of the murder

Real Name: Tupac Amaru Shakur
Nicknames: 2-Pac
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: September 7, 1996

Case[]

Details: Twenty-five-year-old Tupac Shakur was a prolific rapper with four platinum albums. He was very well liked, very intelligent, charismatic and loyal to friends, but he was also involved in dangerous gang activity. Tupac was arrested eight times in the early and mid-90's and served an eight-month jail stint for rape during that time as well. In 1994, he was shot five times in a recording studio but survived. His concerned friends worried his gang lifestyle would kill him before he reached his twenty-fifth birthday.
Tupac attended the Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon boxing match on September 7, 1996, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended the match with Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Tupac's recording studio, Death Row Records. The pair were accompanied by unarmed bodyguards as they left the match and headed to Suge's nearby nightclub in his black BMW. At around 11:10pm, they stopped at an intersection and talked to two unidentified women. A white Cadillac pulled up alongside Knight's BMW and a passenger in the back seat of the Cadillac shot Tupac several times with a .40 S&W Glock 22. Knight was struck in the head but not seriously injured. He then drove to a nearby casino to get help as Tupac remained bloodied and injured next to him. Tupac died six days later from four gunshot wounds: two to the chest, one to the arm, and one to the thigh.
Despite thousands of witnesses, only one individual came forward: Yafeu Fula, also known as Yaki Kadafi, one of Tupac's back-up singers. Fula initially stated that he could identify the gunman in a photo lineup, but police sent him home after they interviewed him for a short time. One week later, he returned to his home in New Jersey. Two months later, Fula was shot to death in a stairwell of a housing project. Many believed this was an effort to silence him forever.
In February 1997, two members of Tupac's entourage came forward, claiming that they had told police from the beginning that they had a clear view of the shooter. They claimed that police never asked them to view a photo lineup. Investigators, however, claimed that the witnesses initially denied seeing the shooter.
Although several theories surround Tupac's death, his killer remains unknown.

175px-Orlando Anderson

Orlando Anderson

Suspects: Three hours before the shooting, a security camera at the MGM Grand caught Tupac and his entourage beat up an alleged member of the South Side Crips street gang, twenty-two-year-old Orlando Anderson. The attack was in retaliation for Anderson's assault of a member of Death Row Records that occurred several months earlier. Some believed that the shooting was in retaliation for the attack on Anderson.
Others believed that the shooting was connected to a heated rivalry between Tupac and East Coast rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. Tupac blamed Puffy and Biggie Smalls for the 1994 attack that nearly killed him. He mentioned this rivalry during a music video released a few months prior to his death. Just weeks before his death, Tupac appeared on a radio show, talking about his rivalry with Combs and Smalls. He claimed that, while in prison, other inmates told him that Smalls was responsible for the 1994 attack. Smalls himself was later murdered. It has been rumored that the murders are connected. However, no evidence has been found to support this.
Still others theorized that Tupac's murder was an inside job, perpetrated by someone in his entourage. This theory is bolstered by the fact that the gunman apparently knew where Tupac would be and only targeted him. It is also bolstered by the fact that none of his bodyguards were armed at the time of the shooting, even though they were armed earlier that evening.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the March 14, 1997 episode.
  • Tupac was the step-nephew and godson of fugitive Joanne Chesimard.
Duane davis

Duane Davis

Results: Solved - On May 29, 1998, Orlando Anderson was killed in an unrelated shooting in Willowbrook, California. He was twenty-three. Witnesses stated that around the time of Tupac's murder, Anderson was carrying a gun that was the same type of weapon that killed Tupac. He also allegedly bragged about killing a rapper. However, there was never enough evidence to charge him in the case before his death.
In 2011, former detective Greg Kading, who had spent years investigating Tupac's murder, released a book about it. He claimed that Anderson's uncle, Duane "Keefe D" Davis, told him that Anderson had shot and killed Tupac. Davis also claimed that he was with Anderson that night. He was in the front passenger seat of the white Cadillac when he handed a gun to Anderson, who was in the back seat. Davis also told Kading that he and Anderson were hired by Sean "Puffy" Combs to kill Tupac. In 2019, Davis released his memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he admitted that he provided the gun used in Tupac's murder.
In July 2023, Davis' home was raided by Las Vegas police. They were searching for items "concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur". They collected computers, a cell phone, a hard drive, several bullets, two tubs containing photographs, and a copy of Davis' memoir.
On September 29, 2023, Davis was arrested and charged with Tupac's murder. Authorities described him as the "ringleader" of the group that killed Tupac and claim that he ordered Anderson to kill Tupac. It was reported that all of the others involved in the murder are now deceased.
Yafeu Fula's murder was later solved and determined to be unrelated to Tupac's case. Sadly, Tupac's parents, William and Afeni, have since passed away.
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