TUPAC SHAKUR
New twist in Tupac Shakur murder investigation
More than 25 years after the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Las Vegas police this week issued a search warrant in connection with his death.
Police in Las Vegas this week served a search warrant in connection with the unsolved murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur, authorities said on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed in a statement that a search was carried out on Monday in Henderson, located some 15 miles outside Las Vegas. Speaking to AP, LVMPD spokesperson Aden Ocampo Gomez said no further details could be provided on this fresh twist in the investigation.
Rapper shot dead nearly 27 years ago
Considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, Tupac was shot dead in Las Vegas in September 1996, as his vehicle waited at a traffic light in the Nevada city. According to authorities, the 25-year-old was struck by four bullets from a Glock .40 calibre pistol, with two hitting him in the chest and one each landing in his arm and thigh.
Tupac died six days later from a respiratory failure that led to a cardiac arrest, after having his right lung removed. His mother, Afeni Shakur, made the decision to turn off his life support.
Who killed Tupac?
Over a quarter of a century on from his murder, an investigation hampered by a lack of leads, and silence from witnesses, remains ongoing.
In 2002, a year-long probe into the case by the journalist Chuck Philips led to a Los Angeles Times article entitled, “Who killed Tupac Shakur?” According to the evidence gathered by Philips, the murder was carried out by the Compton gang Southside Crips, in revenge for a beating that Tupac had handed out to one of its members just hours earlier. Orlando Anderson, the man allegedly assaulted by the rapper, is claimed to have pulled the trigger.
Anderson was considered a suspect by Las Vegas police and was questioned. He was murdered nearly two years later.
The LA Times’ reporting on Tupac’s death also suggested that the gun used to kill him was supplied by his rap rival Notorious B.I.G., amid a feud between the pair. B.I.G. was himself shot dead in March 1997, in a killing that also remains unsolved.