The Killing of Tupac Shakur: Who Did It and Why? Here's What We Know — A Radar Investigation
Rapper Tupac Shakur — aka 2PAC — was at the height of his career when he was assassinated. His album All Eyez on Me had gone quintuple platinum, he'd starred in several well-received Hollywood films, and had just gotten engaged to model Kidada Jones, daughter of famed musician/record producer Quincy Jones.
Tupac's battle to stay on top was epic. His fight to stay alive was heroic, and there's now finally a chance that justice could be served after authorities in Nevada confirmed they served a search warrant in connection with the killing believed to be tied to the uncle of a long-dead suspect, Orlando Anderson, RadarOnline.com can report.
Tupac was born in Harlem to parents who were members of the Black Panther Party. As his mother, Afeni, became more radical, she even changed his name from Lesane to Tupac to honor executed Peruvian war hero Túpac Amaru II.
After shooting to stardom with 1991's 2Pacalypse Now and the '92 film Juice, Tupac started working out, got his famous "Thug Life" torso tattoo, and bought his first gun.
As Tupac's artistic career expanded, so did his rap sheet. He was busted for assaulting a music producer and for carrying a loaded concealed weapon. Later, he almost died when he was shot five times in a robbery attempt he claimed was set up by music-business rivals Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) and Sean Combs (who goes by Diddy now).
He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman and sentenced to 11 months in prison. And though he denied the crime, it actually seemed to enhance his gangster image. Indeed, his alum Me Against the World went to No. 1 while he was behind bars.
Sean Combs and Diddy
While in jail, Tupac also signed a handwritten contract with Death Row Records, making producer Marion "Suge" Knight his new boss. By the time Tupac was released from prison, the 25-year-old rapper was ready to turn his life around.
"I live 'Thug Life,'" he said. "It was stupid ... it's suicidal ... I'm going to act like such an adult."
On September 7, 1996, Suge and Tupac attended the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. As they left the event, Tupac walked past a reputed member of the Crips gang, Anderson, who'd allegedly robbed Death Row's office the previous month.
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Mike Tyson
Tupac beat him to the ground. Security broke up the fight, and the rapper went back to his hotel, where he changed his clothes and joined Suge, who drove them off to a nightclub.
Around 11 p.m., as Suge's BMW 750 was stopped at a red light, a four-door Cadillac suddenly rolled up next to it and a passenger unloaded his .40 caliber Glock handgun into the two men in the car. The Cadillac then sped off.
Tupac, who was hit in the chest and right hip and had a finger on his right hand blown off, lay bleeding. Suge's neck was grazed by a bullet, but he still managed to speed away before being stopped by police.
When Sgt. Chris Carroll opened the door, Tupac "falls into me," he said. "He's covered with blood. His necklace and other jewelry, all of the gold is covered in blood."
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At University medical Center, surgeons removed Tupac's right lung, but couldn't stop the internal bleeding. He died six days later. "He would not have wanted to live as an invalid," his mother said.
The mystery of who killed Tupac remains unsolved. Some believe that Suge gave the kill order after supposedly learning that Tupac wanted out of his contract. Rumors also surfaced that the slaying was the Crips' retaliation for Tupac's attack on Anderson after the Tyson fight.
Another theory blamed rapper Biggie Smalls. Curiously, Biggie himself was gunned down in a car in L.A. six months after Tupac was killed. As in that crime, Biggie was in the front passenger seat of a car stopped at a red light when a gunman pulled up alongside. Biggie was shot four times and died less than an hour later.
Suge Knight
As in Tupac's murder, no arrests were ever made but a break in the case emerged nearly 27 years later.
"LVMPD can confirm a search warrant was served in Henderson, Nevada on July 17, 2023, as part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation. We will have no further comment at this time," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told RadarOnline.com in a statement.
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