EXCLUSIVE: Tupac's Family Claims 'Big Dre' Fired Fatal Shots — After Suspect Duane 'Keefe D' Davis Named His Nephew as Shooter
Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur's murder, conflicting accounts are raising fresh questions over who actually fired the fatal shots.
Aug. 21 2026, Published 7:50 p.m. ET
Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas, conflicting accounts have emerged over one of the biggest mysteries surrounding his murder: who actually pulled the trigger, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
While Duane'"Keefe D' Davis has told investigators his nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson opened fire on the rap legend, a lawsuit brought by Tupac's family points the finger at another man who was allegedly inside the white Cadillac that night – Deandre "Big Dre" Smith.
Who Really Pulled the Trigger?
Tupac Shakur was fatally wounded in Las Vegas in 1996, but the identity of the gunman remains fiercely disputed decades later.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, the Shakur family's complaint cites grand jury testimony alleging Smith, also known as "Freaky," was the person who fired the fatal shots into the BMW carrying Tupac and Death Row Records boss Marion 'Suge' Knight.
The allegation presents a starkly different version of the killing from the account jurors heard during Davis' ongoing murder trial.
Jurors were played portions of Davis' 2008 interview with investigators in which he described riding in the Cadillac with Anderson, Smith, and Terrence 'T-Brown' Brown. Davis said the Cadillac pulled alongside the BMW carrying Tupac and Knight on September 7, 1996.
Two Accounts, One Fatal Night
Tupac Shakur was riding with Marion 'Suge' Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside their BMW and gunfire erupted.
According to Davis' version, he initially passed a gun toward Smith, who was gang-affiliated, in the backseat, but Smith did not take it. Davis claimed Anderson then grabbed the weapon and began firing. Tupac was struck multiple times and died six days later at age 25. But the Shakur family lawsuit cites testimony offering a different account.
The complaint points to grand jury testimony from Denvonta Lee, who allegedly said Smith took the gun because Anderson could not get a clear shot at Tupac. Lee allegedly testified that Smith then fired the weapon.
The competing accounts leave Anderson and Smith – both of whom have since died – at the center of a decades-old dispute over who actually fired into Tupac's vehicle.
Duane 'Keefe D' Davis Version Collides With Grand Jury Testimony
Davis told investigators his nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson fired the shots, while the Shakur family lawsuit cites 'Big Dre'.
Anderson, who had been involved in a casino brawl with Tupac and members of his entourage just hours before the shooting, was killed in an unrelated Compton shooting in 1998.
Smith died in 2004. Davis is now the only surviving person authorities say was inside the Cadillac.
Prosecutors have accused Davis of orchestrating Tupac's murder as retaliation for the earlier attack on Anderson. He is not accused of personally firing the weapon and has pleaded not guilty.
The Only Surviving Man in the Cadillac
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Davis is the only surviving person authorities say was inside the Cadillac linked to Tupac's shooting and has pleaded not guilty to murder.
The prosecution has leaned heavily on Davis' own previous statements about the murder, including his interviews with investigators and later public accounts. His defense, however, has argued those statements cannot be trusted and has portrayed Davis as someone who exaggerated his involvement for attention and money.
The Shakur family's lawsuit raises an additional question now hanging over the historic trial: whether Davis' version of who fired the fatal shots tells the entire story.
The identity of Tupac's actual shooter remains one of the most disputed pieces of the case nearly three decades later.
