LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two men who witnessed the fatal shooting of
Tupac Shakur say they saw the rap star's attackers, but police
never showed them photographs of possible suspects, the Los Angeles
Times reported today.
Both witnesses - members of Shakur's entourage - were in a car
just behind the BMW that Shakur was riding when he was ambushed
Sept. 7 at a busy intersection near the Las Vegas Strip.
Shakur was shot four times and died six days later in a local
hospital. The driver of the BMW, Death Row Records co-founder
Marion "Suge" Knight, suffered graze wounds.
Malcolm Greenridge, a rap singer and member of Shakur's former
back-up quartet, said he saw four African-American men in a white
Cadillac drive past his car just before Shakur was shot but didn't
see who pulled the trigger.
Frank Alexander, a former Shakur bodyguard and the driver of the
car Greenridge was riding in, said he caught a brief glimpse of the
shooter's face.
Both men promised to cooperate with investigators if they're
asked to identify suspects, but both said they're also distrustful
of Las Vegas police.
"Could I identify the killer of my friend Tupac Shakur if the
police showed me photos or a lineup of suspects? Possibly so,"
Alexander said. "The thing is that the Las Vegas Metro Police
never even tried to show me a photo of the shooter. Nor did they
call me at any time for a lineup or to ask me anything concerning
the shooting and death of Tupac."
Greenridge and Alexander said they didn't try to contact Las
Vegas detectives in the five months after Shakur's death because
they were harassed by police who ignored their initial accounts of
the shooting.
Both men decided to make their complaints public because they
were tired of hearing Las Vegas police blame their failure to solve
the Shakur murder on uncooperative members of the rapper's
entourage.
When told of the claims of Alexander and Greenridge, Las Vegas
police disputed the men's account of what they told detectives on
the night of the shooting. But they said their statements could
provide a major break in the probe.
The investigation has narrowed down to a few suspects, but
police said they doubt that anyone will ever be arrested unless a
witness emerges who can identify the shooter.
"Malcolm Greenridge and Frank Alexander gave us taped
statements on the night of the shooting that are totally
inconsistent with what they told the L.A. Times. We would welcome
their additional information and are surprised that they haven't
contacted us sooner," Las Vegas Metro Police Sgt. Kevin Manning
said.
February 28, 1997
Report: Two men say they saw rapper's assailants