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Maria M. Cuevas-Suarez

Mrs. Ramirez

English Period 7

30 November 2021

The Truth About Tupac Shakur’s Death

The circumstances surrounding Tupac Shakur’s sudden death have been debated since the

incident occurred. There are certain events and details that have sparked conspiracies about

whether or not Tupac somehow faked his death and is hiding in an unknown location. Tupac

Shakur was an American rapper and actor in the ’90s. On September 7th, 1996, Tupac gets shot

4 times while in a vehicle and is rushed to the hospital thereafter. He was in a critical condition

having lost his right lung, a finger, and his voice. His mother decided it would be best to pull the

plug, and on September 13, 1996, Tupac passed away. Despite these facts, some people believe

that Tupac is alive after supposedly faking his death. By examining Tupac’s past, we get a look

into some of the alarming altercations in which he was involved. Are there any reasons to

suspect that Tupac didn’t die or are some people just grasping at straws? It is important to know

as much as possible about that September day. Tupac was undeniably in critical condition the

whole time he was in the hospital. Tupac is believed by some to have faked his death. The

chances of that being true are slim. Tupac is deceased because he sustained many fatal injuries

that left him a completely different man so his mother decided to let him pass at the hospital.

There have been previous attempts to threaten Tupac’s life which indicated people

wanted him dead. In 1992 “jealous youths” attacked Tupac so he pulled out a pistol and at some

point dropped it. One of the youths took the pistol and shot it which took the life of a 6-year-old

named Qa’id Walker-Teal (biography.com). This tragedy was the result of violence. Everybody
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involved is not innocent and they carry the weight of what happened. Nonetheless, this is one of

the multiple examples where Tupac was a target. In 1993, Tupac had shot two off-duty cops.

The charge ended up getting dropped due to the policemen having drunk alcohol and wielding a

stolen gun (biography.com). Once again, Tupac almost dies. Danger seems to have followed

him through the years leading up to his death. In 1994, Tupac was shot various times by 2 men.

Tupac believed that Biggie Smalls, Tupac’s rap rival, was the one behind the attack. Even so, no

one was charged for the shooting (biography.com). This event demonstrates that Tupac was

often at risk of losing his life and it was only a matter of time before he ended up dead. The

string of events like this makes it more likely that Tupac is really no more. People wanted him

gone and they were going to keep going after him until he did die.

The reason for the lack of evidence and a culprit is because many witnesses refused to

help the police and not because Tupac was attempting to silence people in order to vanish from

the world. According to Las Vegas homicide Sgt. Kevin Manning, “ Tupac got the same

treatment as any other homicide. We rely on cooperative citizens to step forward and help us

solve crimes. And in Tupac’s case, we got no cooperation whatsoever.”(latimes.com). The lack

of cooperation explains the lack of evidence to solve the case. This information does not

indicate the death was faked. Gang-related crimes are extremely hard to solve because witnesses

are most likely not going to talk to the police (latimes.com). If there is no cooperation there is no

solving it so it causes some people to become suspicious and concoct unfounded stories to try

and make sense of it all. The reality is people didn’t help with the case so it cannot be officially

solved. Las Vegas police at the time were not well versed in gang culture which made their

process inefficient. They also had no connection to gangs so they could not get enough

information (latimes.com). This was a big disadvantage for the case which is another reason
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why Tupac’s case hasn’t been formally solved. Tupac could not have planned all of this to

escape. With this evidence, it is merely a case of people not helping the case get solved.

There is footage and photos showing where Tupac had been and done the day he was

shot. This debunks the theory he had a body double replace him. Tupac was at the lobby of

MGM Grand where he and his group noticed a rival gang member named Orlando Anderson

whom he had problems with and proceeded to beat him (2paclegacy.net). There is surveillance

footage of the incident. If there is footage with Tupac in it then it is not possible for a body

double to have replaced him. People spotted Tupac as well. There is a photograph taken by a

photographer of Tupac and Suge Knight, who is a music executive in the car Tupac was shot in

(2paclegacy.net). The photograph proved Tupac was truly in that car when he was shot. Police

and ambulance were at the scene where Tupac was at. Tupac was reported saying, “I can’t

breathe, I can’t breathe.”(2paclegacy.net). How could Tupac have a body double there instead of

him if people are reporting it was him? Tupac did not have a body double to take the fall that

day and it has been proven by real footage and photos.

Days after the shooting, Tupac’s mother decided to have the doctors pull the plug because

he was never going to be the same. This proves Tupac is deceased. After the shooting, Tupac

was taken to University Medical Center where his right lung and finger were removed and he

was put on a ventilator and respirator (biography.com). It is not hard to believe Tupac really died

because his injuries were so serious that an important organ had to be removed. How could he

disappear with all those injuries? Tupac’s close family had gone to the hospital to see him

(biography.com). There are witnesses who saw how seriously injured Tupac was. Nobody

would be able to take him out of there to escape in the state he was in. Tupac needs to be put to
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rest. Even celebrities die, they can’t always be saved no matter how much money they have.

Nobody can’t escape death.

In conclusion, Tupac being deceased has been proven by past encounters and witnesses

who saw firsthand how Tupac was after the shooting. Tupac was a very influential figure no

doubt. That doesn’t mean he can survive a deadly shooting and escape to an unknown location

without being seen. Knowing about Tupac’s past altercations is necessary to understand how the

event of Tupac’s death was not as surprising as it seemed. Looking into the footage and

photographs clears up the misunderstandings regarding the shooting. There is enough

information and witnesses to piece together the story. It was impossible for Tupac to leave the

hospital to escape because he was in critical condition resulting in a medically induced coma.

Tupac didn’t fake his death, numerous life-changing injuries he could not fully recover from

were sustained which resulted in his untimely death. As said by Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s mother,

“I don’t care what people say because I truly believe that God sent him here. He sent him with a

mission. He fulfilled his mission and he went back where he came from.”
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Works Cited

Tupac's Death in Las Vegas (Videos, Photos & Full Information)

"Tupac's Death In Las Vegas (Videos, Photos & Full Information)". 2Paclegacy.Net,

2016, https://2paclegacy.net/tupacs-death-in-las-vegas/. Accessed 2 Dec 2021.

Tupac Shakur is shot

"Tupac Shakur Is Shot". HISTORY, 2021,

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tupac-shakur-is-shot. Accessed 2 Dec 2021.

How Vegas Police Probe Foundered

"How Vegas Police Probe Foundered". Los Angeles Times, 2002,

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-07-fi-tupac7-story.html. Accessed 2

Dec 2021.

Tupac Shakur

"Tupac Shakur". Biography, 2021, https://www.biography.com/musician/tupac-shakur.

Accessed 2 Dec 2021.

Inside Tupac's Last Days

"Inside Tupac's Last Days". Biography, 2021,

https://www.biography.com/news/tupac-last-days-murder. Accessed 2 Dec 2021.