News of April 9, 2002
Alton McDonald, Close Associate of Suge Knight, Shot Dead in Compton
In early April 2002, Alton McDonald was fatally shot at a Compton gas station. In 1996, he was with Suge Knight in Las Vegas and on the MGM video.
Alton McDonald, a man from Suge Knight’s circle, is dead. In early April 2002, the 37-year-old was getting gas at a Shell station in Compton when a dark pickup truck stopped and gunfire was opened. He was struck in the upper body and died at St. Francis Medical Center. A companion fled from the scene. Police believed that several people were inside the vehicle and at least one stepped out and fired. According to the report by AllHipHop from April 9, the perpetrators were at large.
A Witness to the Night in Las Vegas
According to these accounts, McDonald was driving a vehicle registered to the then head of security for Knight’s label Tha Row. Sources described him as an important figure in Knight’s circle, while whether he worked for the label remained open. Knight visited him in the hospital and, according to the Los Angeles Times, also visited the family in Compton.
In September 1996, McDonald was with Knight in Las Vegas. Surveillance footage shows him during the altercation in the hotel lobby, which many view as the trigger for the fatal shots fired at Tupac (more on the fight at the MGM Grand).