Las Vegas Metropolitan Police immediately responded to the reported shooting on Tuesday, Aug. 18
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NEED TO KNOW
- Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been charged with Tupac Shakur’s murder; he pleaded not guilty
- On the second day of Davis’ trial, a shooting erupted outside the courtroom around the time Shakur’s family left for lunch
- Davis faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with an allegation that he acted with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang
A shooting reportedly erupted outside around the time Tupac Shakur’s family left a Las Vegas courthouse for lunch on the second day of Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ murder trial.
Davis, 63, is charged in Shakur’s 1996 killing, which prosecutors allege was carried out to avenge Shakur’s entourage attacking Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand following a Mike Tyson fight.
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On Tuesday, Aug. 18, jurors were shown the casino’s surveillance video of the clash. The camera, which panned back and forth in the MGM Grand, showed a group of people beating and kicking someone on the ground.
The video showed Shakur and his entourage moving quickly through the crowded building in the minutes after, with some men jogging to keep up. The surveillance footage then showed security and police arriving at the scene and talking to Anderson, who was wearing a number 13 Dan Marino Miami Dolphins jersey.
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
A few hours later, Shakur, riding in a black BMW with hip-hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, was gunned down by someone in a white Cadillac carrying Davis, Anderson and two other men inside.
Davis is not accused of pulling the trigger.
Dean O’Kelley, a former Las Vegas police officer, testified to finding several cartridges on the street at the scene and recalled receiving reports that the suspect’s vehicle was a white Cadillac potentially occupied by four Black men.
He said he checked areas that he frequented while working in the police gang unit to look for it.
Graphic autopsy photos of Shakur were also shown to jurors as a forensic pathologist detailed the rapper’s fatal injuries and the extensive efforts doctors made to save his life after he was shot nearly 30 years ago.
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Following the testimony, the courtroom was dismissed for a lunch break.
Tupac’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, paused outside the courthouse on her way out, placing her hand over her heart as she thanked PEOPLE for covering the case.
“Thank you so much for being here,” she said. “For covering this. Thank you.”
She then walked over to her and Tupac’s brother, Mopreme Shakur, who nodded in approval.
Moments after the family left in a vehicle, six police officers ran down the street as a heavy law enforcement presence descended on downtown Las Vegas following reports of gunfire. Seven more officers arrived at the scene, one holding a large weapon.
Several calls came into dispatch shortly after 1 p.m. about shots reportedly heard inside a business in the 500 block of Casino Center Boulevard near Bonneville Street, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Officers responding to the reports were unable to locate a victim or confirm a shooting scene, police told PEOPLE. “From what I know, there was no one critically injured, at least at the moment,” the source said. “But there was some type of shooting incident.”
Several police vehicles were also seen outside a Starbucks near the corner of Casino Center Boulevard and Clark Avenue as officers investigated.
KLAS reported dispatchers told officers the apparent gunshots came from inside the Starbucks.
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The investigation remains ongoing and no other details were immediately available. The police response did not disrupt the trial.
Tupac’s family later returned to the courthouse to hear testimony from James McDonald, a 61-year-old former associate of Knight and Reggie Wright Jr., who served as head of security for Death Row Records at the time of Shakur’s fatal shooting.
Both men testified about their knowledge of the events surrounding the shooting and the people connected to Death Row Records at the time.
Davis faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with Shakur’s death. He has pleaded not guilty.
The proceedings are expected to last approximately one month, with an extensive witness list of over 200 names. Knight and Shakur’s family are among them.
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