Sunday marks 29 years since a Las Vegas shooting that was responsible for the death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The above photo (shown during a 2023 Metro police news conference) is the last one taken of the rapper — an ominous image that forecasted a violent, headline-generating moment in Las Vegas history.
🎰 A Mysterious Murder Case
Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight were in Vegas on September 7, 1996 for a Mike Tyson boxing match that lasted less than two minutes at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Earlier in the night, Shakur, Knight, and other Death Row associates got into a fight with gang member Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson in the lobby.
After Tyson’s bout was over, Shakur and Knight left the MGM Grand in a black BMW and headed to Club 662, which is now Hamburger Mary’s on Flamingo. A white Cadillac pulled up next to them at the Koval intersection and someone fired shots into the BMW. Shakur was hit multiple times. Knight was grazed and sped off before turning back to the Strip and meeting up with police who called an ambulance.
🤬 Famous Last Words?
A Metro officer opened the door and asked Shakur who shot him. The response? “F*** you,” according to the officer, who watched the rapper slip into unconsciousness. The expletive was widely reported as Shakur’s final words, but Knight says his friend was alert at points during his six-day stay at UMC, joking around and asking for Hennessey before pleading with his mother to help him end the pain. His death was announced the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 13.
🚨 Who Was Responsible?
Investigators believe both Anderson and Crip leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis were in the Cadillac, but speculation differs on who pulled the trigger. Davis, considered the mastermind behind the hit, claims he was paid a million dollars by Sean “Diddy” Combs (who had a high-profile beef with Death Row) to carry it out.
Anderson died years ago. Davis was arrested and charged for the drive-by in 2023 and has been behind bars in Clark County ever since. After a few legal delays, the murder trial is now set for February. Meanwhile, Davis was just sentenced to more than three years for fighting with a fellow inmate earlier this year.
📸 Who Took that Photo?
Less of a mystery: the person who took the final known photo of Tupac Shakur. It was Leonard Jefferson, a UCLA film student who was also at the MGM Grand, knew the rapper, and exchanged words with Shakur before snapping the pic. Little did he know at the time the relevance of that impromptu moment.
- City Cast Las Vegas discussed the murder case in depth following the arrest of Duane “Keefe D” Davis. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
