Tupac “2Pac” Shakur was shot while sitting in a BMW with Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight after a Mike Tyson fight on the night of September 7, 1996. A white Cadillac pulled up next to the car at a red light and several shots were fired. Shakur was hit and died six days later. Knight survived.
According to the investigation, the murder was the culmination of a long-standing conflict between Shakur's record label Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, with connections to the rival gangs Mob Piru (part of the Bloods) and the South Side Compton Crips.
"Across the border"
Murder suspect Duane “Keffe D” Davis spoke openly about the crime for several years. In his 2019 autobiography “Compton Street Legend,” Davis alleged that Shakur and his entourage “crossed the line” when they assaulted Davis’ nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson at the MGM Grand earlier that night.
Prosecutors claim that Shakur's murder was direct revenge for the beating.
“We couldn’t let some studio gangsters from a record company treat us like that,” Davis's book says.
According to the autobiography, Davis was in the passenger seat of the Cadillac. When they encountered Shakur and Knight, Davis says that he saw Shakur reach for a gun and that "one of my guys in the back seat took the Glock and started shooting back."
However, no weapon was ever found in the car in which Knight and Shakur were travelling, according to Las Vegas police.
Davis' book and interviews are now being used as key evidence by prosecutors, although the defence argues that the book is partly fiction.
Prosecutors are not trying to prove who fired the shots, but that Davis planned the act and provided the shooters with the weapon.
Davis is charged with murder in furtherance of a criminal gang. He has been in custody since 2023 and denies any wrongdoing.
Stepbrother wants to investigate Diddy
Shakur's stepbrother Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur says the past 30 years have been stressful for the family.
I hope the trial will be fair and that the truth will come out.
He also wants further investigation into the allegations of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ possible involvement. In his book, Davis claims that Combs wanted both Shakur and Knight killed, something Combs has consistently denied.
Tupac Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide and is considered one of the most influential artists in music history.
