Flamingo Road — where Tupac was shot fatally

On the night of September 7, 1996, following the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon heavyweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Tupac Shakur was riding in a black BMW 750 sedan driven by Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them at a red light at Flamingo Road and Koval Lane and opened fire. Tupac was struck by four bullets — twice in the chest, once in the arm, once in the thigh. Suge Knight was hit in the head by a bullet fragment. The BMW continued to the next intersection before stopping.

Tupac was rushed to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he was placed in intensive care. He died on the afternoon of September 13, 1996, six days after the shooting, from respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. He was twenty-five years old. The shooter and the circumstances behind the attack have never been officially established; the case remains technically unsolved. Several detailed theories have been advanced, involving disputes with the Crips gang, the East Coast-West Coast beef, and various individuals in and around Death Row Records. None has resulted in charges.

The intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane is in the commercial strip east of the Las Vegas Strip — car rental lots, fast food, the ordinary infrastructure of the city behind the casinos. There is no marker. Fans leave flowers and photographs at the corner on the anniversary of the shooting. His mother Afeni scattered his ashes; his close associates the Outlawz have claimed they mixed some of the ashes with marijuana and smoked them in tribute, though this has never been confirmed.