Who killed Tupac Shakur | Britannica Browse Dictionary Quizzes Money Subscribe Subscribe Login Entertainment & Pop Culture Geography & Travel Health & Medicine Lifestyles & Social Issues Literature Philosophy & Religion Politics, Law & Government Science Sports & Recreation Technology Visual Arts World History On This Day in History Quizzes Podcasts Dictionary Biographies Summaries Top Questions Week In Review Infographics Demystified Lists #WTFact Companions Image Galleries Spotlight The Forum One Good Fact Entertainment & Pop Culture Geography & Travel Health & Medicine Lifestyles & Social Issues Literature Philosophy & Religion Politics, Law & Government Science Sports & Recreation Technology Visual Arts World History Britannica ClassicsCheck out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. Britannica ExplainsIn these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. Demystified VideosIn Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. #WTFact VideosIn #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. This Time in HistoryIn these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. Student PortalBritannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. COVID-19 PortalWhile this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. 100 WomenBritannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. Britannica BeyondWe’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. Go ahead. Ask. We won’t mind. Saving EarthBritannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! SpaceNext50Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! Who killed Tupac Shakur Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/story/who-killed-tupac-shakur By Myles Hudson Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock.com Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996, six days after an unknown gunman in a white Cadillac shot him four times in the chest at a stoplight in Las Vegas. A Los Angeles Times investigation determined that uncooperative witnesses and minimal pursuit of gang-related leads resulted in what remains an unsolved homicide case. The first part of this widely read investigation, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chuck Philips, provided an in-depth analysis of the identity of Shakur’s murderer. Philips presented evidence that the Southside Crips, a gang from Compton, California, executed the killing. Shakur was tied to the Mob Piru Bloods, a street gang that often battled with the Crips over territory and personal slights. One such slight resulted in Shakur and his Bloods bodyguards beating Crips member Orlando Anderson in the lobby of a Mike Tyson prizefight venue. This event, Philips argued, prompted Anderson to go to his fellow gang members and demand retaliation, which they agreed to follow through with. Furthermore, Philips posited that Shakur’s rival and New York rapper Notorious B.I.G., whose legal name was Christopher Wallace, provided the gun and had previously offered to pay the Crips if they successfully killed Shakur. His feud with the rapper had escalated such that Wallace offered to pay the Crips $1 million for the murder. Philips’s article stated that Anderson used Wallace’s .40-caliber Glock pistol to carry out the hit. Both Anderson and Wallace were killed within two years of Shakur’s death. Philips’s reporting was based on interviews with a series of informants who agreed to disclose their knowledge about the case in exchange for anonymity. While praised for its detailed presentation and logical structure, Philips’s Los Angeles Times investigation has been panned for its reliance on unnamed sources, particularly those who implicated two deceased individuals and whose allegations have not been corroborated. Related Topics Tupac Shakur film acting music singing gangsta rap Bullet rap All Eyez on Me Poetic Justice Load More