Tupac Shakur’s Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Shooting Suspect

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Rapper Tupac Shakur’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday against Duane "Keefe D" Davis, the only person to be charged in Shakur's death, NME magazine reported.

Shakur was shot several times on September 7th, 1996, while sitting at a red light in the passenger seat of a black BMW 750iL driven by Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, after they attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"That evening, there was an altercation between (Shakur and Knight) and Orlando Anderson at the MGM Grand Casino," NME stated.

"When Tupac and Knight drove to Club 662 later that night, a white Cadillac pulled alongside them and somebody sitting in the back seat opened fire, shooting Shakur four times. He died in hospital six days later, aged 25."

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"Davis was arrested in 2023 and later pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Davis is the uncle of Orlando Anderson, and police alleged that he planned the shooting with his nephew as retaliation for the altercation at the casino."

"Davis is a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, and prosecutors have argued that he had 'ordered the death' of the rapper...police have claimed that Davis got the gun used to shoot Shakur from an unnamed associate."

"The three men who were in the car with him at the time – including his nephew – have all since died, and Davis both maintained his not-guilty plea and also made moves to suppress key evidence in the case – claiming it was obtained in an 'unlawful nighttime search.'"

The lawsuit references claims that Davis made during the 2025 Netflix special Sean Combs: The Reckoning that Sean Combs offered him $1 million to murder Shakur. Combs has denied any involvement in the murder.

Davis has made statements to police, and in his 2019 self-published, co-written memoir, Compton Street Legend, that he was in the shooter's car, he provided the gun, and he acted as the "shot caller" for the murder.

He has since told ABC News, "I've never read the book."

Davis is set to stand trial for the criminal charges on August 10th, 2026.

A date for the civil trial is not known.

Tupac Shakur (Photo credit: Chi Modu)