Tupac's Last Week

On the evening of September 7, 1996, the fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand lasted 109 seconds. A few hours later shots rang out at a traffic light on Koval Lane, and Tupac Shakur had six days left.

For his family and fans they were days of hope and fear, for the police days of silence, and for Compton days of violence. This account relies on what was reported at the time and on what the investigation later established. The shooting itself is covered in detail on The 1996 Las Vegas shooting.

Saturday, September 7, 1996: a beating in the lobby, shots at a red light

Tupac had come to Las Vegas with Suge Knight and the Death Row entourage to watch Tyson fight. His girlfriend Kidada Jones waited at the Luxor. After the short fight, a delighted Tupac told a camera he had counted fifty punches.

On the way out, Death Row associate Travon Lane pointed out a young man: Orlando Anderson from Compton. Tupac attacked him, the group joined in, and the hotel cameras recorded it all. Anderson declined to press charges.

Tupac changed at the Luxor, drove to Suge’s house and, around 10:30 p.m., set off for Club 662 in a black BMW with Suge at the wheel. After a brief stop by a bicycle patrol, they pulled up at the light at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane around 11:10 p.m. At about 11:15 p.m. shots were fired from a white Cadillac. Tupac was hit four times. Shortly before midnight he was on the operating table at University Medical Center (UMC).

Sunday, September 8: doctors remove a lung

Within hours the news had gone around the world, and fans and reporters gathered outside UMC. Suge Knight, grazed on the head by a fragment, was discharged.

About 20 hours after the first operation, Tupac went into surgery again, and doctors removed his right lung. “He’s back in his room, and again, he remains in critical condition,” said hospital spokesman Dale Pugh. Tupac had been conscious at times, Pugh added, but was heavily sedated.

His mother Afeni Shakur, Yaasmyn Fula, a close friend of the family, and other friends kept watch by his bed. Jesse Jackson visited, along with members of the Nation of Islam and labelmate Hammer. Police questioned the men from the convoy, but hardly anyone talked. Sergeant Kevin Manning complained that the Death Row people were neither talkative nor cooperative.

Monday, September 9: guards at the ICU, gunfire in Compton

The hospital tightened security. Hospital guards, police officers and Death Row bodyguards stood outside the intensive care unit. Outside the building a scuffle broke out between police and people from Tupac’s circle, and several were briefly handcuffed. Police later called it a misunderstanding.

In Compton, according to local police, members of several Bloods sets met that day to discuss retaliation against the Southside Crips. The Bloods and the Crips are the two big rival gang alliances of the Los Angeles area. That afternoon a man was shot on East Alondra Boulevard; his name had been given to Las Vegas detectives as a possible passenger in the Cadillac. It was the start of a series of shootings.

Tuesday, September 10: a slight improvement

At first, doctors had put Tupac’s chances of survival at one in five. On Tuesday his condition was said to have improved slightly. The media were full of speculation: the feud with Bad Boy in New York, a gang war in Compton, conflict inside Death Row. Police called it all pure speculation.

According to Vibe, Bad Boy canceled appearances by its artists for fear of reprisals. Afeni Shakur and Yaasmyn Fula took turns at the bedside. Those who saw Tupac in these days described him as motionless, attached to tubes and machines.

Wednesday, September 11: Suge Knight saw nothing

In the morning a member of the Southside Crips was shot dead in his car in Compton. Las Vegas police received tips that he had been in the Cadillac; this was never confirmed. Over the following days more people were killed and wounded in Compton.

Suge Knight talked to detectives that day. He had heard something but seen nothing, he said, and the police were left without a lead. Investigators reviewed the MGM Grand security footage. At first they ruled out the man from the lobby as a suspect.

Thursday, September 12: an induced coma, no prognosis

Tupac’s condition worsened. He was on a ventilator, and convulsions shook his body again and again. Doctors kept him in an induced coma so that he would not hurt himself. They no longer gave a prognosis.

A court date had been set in Los Angeles for that day: sentencing in a 1994 weapons case in which Tupac had pleaded guilty that spring. It never took place.

Friday, September 13: 4:03 p.m.

At 4:03 p.m. local time, Tupac Amaru Shakur died at University Medical Center. The hospital gave respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest as the cause. He was 25 years old.

Hundreds of people stood outside the hospital: young people, families, reporters. Afeni Shakur left the intensive care unit composed, surrounded by family. Yaasmyn Fula’s son Yafeu “Yaki Kadafi” Fula, Tupac’s godbrother, also came out of the unit, as did Death Row singer Danny Boy. Suge Knight arrived with his head bandaged, spoke briefly with the family and left. Cars rolled slowly past the hospital playing Tupac’s songs.

The same day, two men were shot dead in Compton; police said they were members of the Bloods.

Afterwards: ashes, an album and a lost witness

On September 14, Tupac’s body was cremated in Las Vegas. There was no public funeral. Fans laid flowers at the corner of Flamingo and Koval.

On November 5, 1996, the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, recorded that summer, came out under the name Makaveli. Its title and the number seven have fueled speculation ever since; see Theories.

On November 10, 1996, Yaki Kadafi was shot dead in New Jersey. He had been in the car behind Tupac and had told police he might be able to recognize the gunman. How investigators carried on without him, up to the 2023 indictment, is covered on The investigation.