Search warrant served by police in connection with Tupac murder

Las Vegas police served a search warrant Monday in connection with the 1996 unsolved murder of American rapper Tupac Shakur.

Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996. Shakur was gunned down while sitting inside a black car with Marion “Suge” Knight, head of Death Row Records. Police have said the two were stopped at a red light near the Las Vegas strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted.

There has never been an arrest in connection with the murder case, more than 25 years after it took place, but this warrant is confirmation the case is still open and active. In a statement, the police confirmed that a search warrant had been issued, though they declined to offer any further comment on the status of the investigation.

Las Vegas police have said in the past that the investigation quickly stalled in part because witnesses refused to cooperate. Nevada does not have a statute of limitations for prosecuting homicide cases, and it remains unclear what Vegas police were looking for with the search warrant.

Tupac.

Tupac Shakur, sometimes stylised as 2Pac, was considered one of music's greatest and most controversial artists - not just a rapper but a poet, actor and revolutionary. Despite his tragic death at the age of 25, he left a massive mark on the world and has become a global icon. Last month, Shakur was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star honours his contributions to the rap scene and the arts, along with his activism for racial equality.

His professional music career only lasted five years, but Shakur secured 21 Billboard Hot 100s, including 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 the No 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 from his final studio album and Death Row Records debut, All Eyez on Me. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Snoop Dogg.

An authorised biography of the rapper is due to release later this year, titled Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography. It will explore his life and the legacy he left behind, authored by writer and screenwriter Staci Robinson who knew Shakur as a young man. You can read more about the forthcoming biography here.