Las Vegas police search home linked to 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur
Notorious BIG. and Tupac Shakur (Shutterstock)
Authorities confirmed the procedure in Henderson, Nevada, “as part of the ongoing investigation into the homicide” of the musician shot to death more than 25 years ago
A home outside Las Vegas was searched by local police in connection with the 1996 death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed in the city nearly three decades ago.
No additional information was provided about who owned the home or what led police to conduct the search.
Tupac Shakur, Sting, Madonna and Ingrid Casares at a dinner in March 1994 (Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/Shutterstock)
In a press release issued Tuesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it “can confirm that a search warrant was served in Henderson, Nevada, on July 17, 2023, as part of the ongoing investigation into the Tupac Shakur homicide.”
The police department, whose jurisdiction includes the Henderson suburb where the search took place, declined to comment further.
The state of Nevada – which has Las Vegas as its largest city – does not have a statute of limitations for prosecuting homicide cases.
A group of people take photos of rapper Tupac Shakur’s star during the posthumous unveiling ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on June 7, 2023 (REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)
Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996, and died in a hospital six days later at the age of 25. No arrest has ever been made in the case.
According to the police reconstruction, Shakur was sitting inside a black BMW with Marion “Suge” Knight, head of Death Row Records, and the two were waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and a shooting ensued.
Las Vegas police have said in the past that the investigation quickly stalled in part because witnesses refused to cooperate.
Shakur’s death came amid his feud with rival rapper Notorious B.I.G., who was fatally shot six months later. At the time, both rappers were in the midst of the infamous East Coast-West Coast rivalry, which primarily defined the hip-hop scene in the mid-1990s. The feud flared after Shakur was seriously injured in another shooting during a robbery in the lobby of a midtown Manhattan hotel.
Shakur openly accused B.I.G. and Sean “Diddy” Combs of having prior knowledge of the shooting, something both vehemently denied. The shooting sparked a feud that created a serious rift between the hip-hop community and its fans.
The New York-born rapper represented the West Coast after signing with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records. They often traded insults in the media and through their songs. B.I.G. and Combs hailed from the East Coast and represented New York-based Bad Boy Records.
Largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, Shakur, a six-time Grammy Award nominee, has had five No. 1 albums: 1995’s “Me Against the World,” 1996’s “All Eyez on Me” and three posthumous releases: 1996’s “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory,” recorded under the name Makaveli, as well as 2001’s “Until the End of Time” and 2004’s “Loyal to the Game.”
His professional music career lasted only five years, but Shakur scored 21 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including the top 10 hits “Dear Mama” and “Old School” in 1995, and his best-known track, 1996’s “How Do U Want It/California Love,” featuring K-Ci and JoJo. The latter spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from her latest studio album and Death Row Records debut, “All Eyez on Me.”
According to entertainment data company Luminate, Shakur has sold 33 million albums, 41 million if track sales and streaming equivalents are included. The rapper’s video and audio-on-demand streams total 10.1 billion.
In 2017, Shakur was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hand-in-hand with Snoop Dogg. In June this year, the rapper received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also had a few museum exhibits paying tribute to his life, such as “Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When I’m Free,” which opened in 2021.