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On September 7, 1996, 25-year-old Tupac Shakur was shot down by unknown assailants in a Las Vegas drive-by. He was in a car on East Flamingo Road around 11:15 pm when he was shot four to six times by the assailants. To date, his murder remains a mystery. Many believe he fell victim to a gang rivalry.
The rapper was known for his socially relevant songs, which would mostly address issues surrounding social discrimination and inequality. He was arguably the most influential rapper of his time.
On August 14, Investigation Discovery revisited the artist's murder with their latest episode, titled Killer 90s. Read on to unravel some more facts on Tupac Amaru Shakur.
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic information about violence.
5 facts about Tupac Shakur's murder
1) Alleged gang rivalry behind the murder
According to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chuck Phillips, Shakur was a part of Mob Piru Bloods, a street gang that was at loggerheads with another street gang, Southside Crips.
The two gangs often engaged in fights. In one such flare-up, the rapper and his co-members beat up a rival gang member, Orlando Anderson. This didn't go down well with Anderson. He spoke to other Crips members and demanded retaliation.
Security camera footage, released later, showed Anderson being beaten by Shakur and his gang members.
2) Another rapper offered to pay Crips 1 million dollar for the murder
In Chuck Phillips' report, the reporter claimed Christopher Wallace, known by his stage name Notorious B.I.G., provided his gun to the Crips gang and a million dollars if they were to successfully execute Shakur.
Phillips also claimed in his report that the murder was carried out with Wallace's pistol .40-caliber Glock.
Wallace's hatred for the rapper was so intense that when he gave his gun to the Crips gang, he reportedly said that he not only wanted Shakur dead, but he also wanted the "fatal bullet" to come out of his gun.
3) Tupac’s mother filed a wrongful-death lawsuit
According to Tupac Shakur's mother, her son's death had a direct link to the aforementioned gang rivalry. She even filed a lawsuit alleging Anderson to have carried out the murder. She claimed that Anderson was seen carrying a Glock .40-caliber handgun, the same gun that was believed to have been used to kill the rapper.
4) Orlando was killed two years after the rapper's murder
In a gang shootout in 1998, Orlando Anderson was killed in Compton. He was only 23 years old at the time.
On the same day, around 2 pm, his grandmother died. He drove up to a carwash at Alondra Boulevard and Oleander Avenue, where his rival gang members were also already present. Following an altercation, the two gangs started shooting, leaving Orlando and another person dead.
5) Orlando kept denying involvement in Shakur's murder
Orlando denied any involvement in the rapper's murder. Moreover, he was never charged even though the rapper's gang and other eye-witnesses insisted that he was responsible.
Eye-witnesses even claimed that Orlando's Uncle Southside Crip boss Duane “Keffe D” Davis handed him the gun in the car to kill the rapper.
There are also allegations of a cover-up from the side of the LA Police Department. According to reports, the Las Vegas police said,
"The main reason they would never solve this case is that the politicians didn’t want them to. They said the powers that be had let them know the city didn’t need an O.J.-style circus."
