Who was there the night Tupac Shakur was killed
AP News • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to stand trial on August 10 for allegedly orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed rapper Tupac Shakur and wounded Marion “Suge” Knight near the Las Vegas Strip; Davis pleaded not guilty.
- The shooting is believed to have been motivated by a violent rivalry between East Coast Bloods and West Coast Crips gangs, with Davis claiming leadership of a Compton Crips sect.
- Key individuals involved included Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, suspected by authorities as the gunman but deceased since 1998, and Deandrae “Freaky” Smith, whom some testimony suggests may have fired the fatal shots.
- Tupac Shakur, a highly influential rapper with multiple No. 1 albums and posthumous honors, was 25 at the time of his death; Suge Knight, founder of Death Row Records, was injured in the attack and is currently serving a prison sentence unrelated to the shooting.
- Other figures in the Cadillac during the shooting, such as driver Terry “Bubble Up” Brown, have also died, complicating the investigation and leaving many questions unresolved ahead of the upcoming trial.
