1994 Shooting
Prior to the fatal attack on his life in September ’96, Tupac had already been close to getting killed once before. The below is a summary of what happened on Wednesday 30 November 1994.
While awaiting the outcome of his trial – he was in court on charges of sodomy, sexual abuse and possession of weapons and was facing a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison – Tupac was in New York City. At 12.20 a.m., he and 3 others – one of which close friend Randy ‘Stretch’ Walker – arrived at a Times Square building to record a verse for the upcoming album of Bad Boy Entertainment’s Little Shawn. Upon their arrival, Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s Lil’ Cease shouted at them from the window of the 8th-floor recording studio. This made Tupac feel a bit more relaxed, as he figured the presence of the Bad Boy-crew – including Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace – in the building would mean there was enough security around. As they were walking through the lobby, they didn’t pay too much attention to the guy standing there. But by the time they hit the elevator area, 2 other men had walked in to join the first guy. The 3 went after Tupac and his companions, pulling out guns and yelling it was a robbery. Immediately, Stretch and the 2 others dived to the ground, but Tupac remained standing, refusing to give in. A struggle followed, in which Tupac got shot 5 times, including 2 graze wounds to the head. The attackers disappeared with $40,000 worth of gold and jewelry, leaving Tupac behind for dead.
One of Tupac’s crew chased the attackers, but didn’t get far as he collapsed being hit by a bullet as well. Stretch quickly assisted Tupac into the elevator. When they arrived on the 8th floor, Tupac felt like something strange was going on. Bleeding to death and in desperate need of help, he looked around him to see the astonished faces of Puffy, Biggie and the others. “It was like they were seeing a ghost!”, Tupac would later describe the situation. Nobody was seemingly able (or willing?) to help him, which would make him strongly believe Combs and Wallace were either involved in the set-up or at least knew what was going on – an allegation both always denied.
Finally, 911 was called and Tupac was rushed to the Bellvue hospital. On the way out of the building, he still had the force to show his middle finger to a sensation-searching photographer from the stretcher. Tupac immediately went into surgery. Against doctor’s orders and only hours after the attack and the heavy surgery, Tupac checked himself out of the hospital later that night. The very next day, he was wheeled into the court room to listen to the jury’s verdict. On his right wrist the sole item the attackers didn’t manage to take: a diamond-encrusted gold Rolex watch. The jury found him guilty of sexual abuse – which in the state of New York you already are when touching a woman’s rear – but was acquitted for the more serious sodomy and weapons charges. Tupac was sentenced to 4.5 years in Rikers Island, a maximum security prison in New York. He served a good 8 months before Death Row Records C.E.O. Marion ‘Suge’ Knight posted a $1.4 million bond to release him from prison and tie him to his record label.
