There is only one surviving witness in the case of the murder of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, and that man is now being indicted in the 1996 murder of the rap legend. Duane “Keffe D” Davis was indicted on a charge of open murder with the use of a deadly weapon and gang enhancement.
Davis is a relative of a man who was arrested shortly after the shooting in 1996 and has since remained connected to the case as a witness and has commented on the shooting multiple times. Shakur was killed while in a car on the Las Vegas Strip, and it is believed that his rival and nephew of Davis, Orlando Anderson, played a role in the killing.
Anderson denied any involvement up until his death, which was also caused by gang-related homicide. Davis claimed in an interview in 2018 that Tupac and Suge Knight, who was riding in the car alongside the rapper, were members of the South Side Crips gang and guessed that their affiliation played a role in the drive-by shooting that occurred.
A gang was allegedly looking for Shakur that night after an incident earlier in the evening where Shakur fought a member. Later, Shakur would be shot dead in a drive-by shooting.
The arrest comes as a welcome sign to many fans of Tupac and his music, but still leaves many questions surrounding the case. While some believe that Davis will be found guilty, others are less sure. The wise minds over at Reddit discussed the case, giving a breakdown of the events surrounding Davis’ involvement in the homicide.
A Reddit user wrote, “I’ve read a little about this case, but not a ton. It seemed to me that this man was present at the shooting. However, no one is talking about if he pulled the trigger or not. This is interesting to me because you can be charged with murder in the US by just being present when a murder takes place.” They added, “Where do we draw the line? This man seemed to be bragging or at least acknowledging that he is one of the last people alive who witnessed the murder of Tupac.”
Shakur’s death is one of the most heavily scrutinized celebrity murders of all time, with its timing coming at the height of his young career. He became an icon in the West Coast rap scene that has stood the test of time, with many other rappers basing their style off of his music even still, nearly 30 years later.
An article from ABC called Tupac one of the greatest rappers of all time. Among the plethora of reasons that they gave for his greatness, the first point is the most telling about how he garnered such extreme fame and love from his many fans. They call Tupac a “master storyteller,” saying that he was able to weave intricate lyrics together to form a song that served more as a story than the gangster rap that litters today’s music.
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