Nearly 30 years after the murder of US rapper Tupac Shakur, a former gang leader has been convicted for his role in the attack’s organization. A jury in Las Vegas found him guilty on one count of the murder involving a deadly weapon. The rap superstar was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996.
The 63-year-old defendant announced his intention to appeal the verdict. Shakur was only 25 years old when he was killed, having been one of the most influential voices in rap at the peak of his career, and sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
The prosecution argued that the defendant, although not the shooter, commissioned the murder and provided the weapon that his nephew used. They claimed the act was planned as an act of retribution after the nephew became involved in a dispute with Shakur and his entourage. The case remained unsolved for three decades and sparked numerous conspiracy theories. The era of the murder was marked by intense rivalry between the East and West Coast rap scenes, as well as gang conflicts between the Bloods and Crips.
