Thirty years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, a former police officer has testified about what he says were among the rapper’s final known words, recalling that Shakur refused to identify his attackers while being rushed to the hospital and instead repeated a short message: “We’ll take care of it.”
Retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer Garry Dale gave the account during the 2026 murder trial of Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis, who prosecutors accuse of helping organize the September 1996 shooting as retaliation for an earlier confrontation involving Davis’ nephew.
USA TODAY’s trial footage showed Dale describing how he encountered Shakur and Death Row Records cofounder Marion “Suge” Knight shortly after the shooting, then rode in the ambulance with the badly wounded rapper while trying unsuccessfully to learn who had opened fire.
Dale Found Shakur Being Loaded Into An Ambulance
Dale testified that he and another officer were patrolling the Las Vegas Strip when they heard radio traffic concerning a vehicle and soon came upon the car stopped in the median near Harmon Avenue.
Knight, who had also been injured, was outside the vehicle and walking around while emergency medical personnel were removing Shakur.
Dale said Knight had what appeared to be a piece of shrapnel in his head and was bleeding, but rather than focusing on his own injury, Knight repeatedly urged officers to take care of Shakur.
“He was adamant that we needed to go and care for Mr. Shakur,” Dale testified.
Dale then went to Shakur and began trying to gather information about what had happened and who had fired at the car.
The officer eventually climbed into the ambulance and accompanied Shakur to the hospital, continuing to question him as medical personnel worked to keep him alive.
Shakur Refused To Name His Attackers
According to Dale, Shakur was still able to speak during at least part of the ambulance ride, although his condition was obviously serious.
Dale said he repeatedly tried to convince the 25-year-old rapper to identify whoever had shot him.
“He was still talking, and I was trying to convince him to tell me the name of whoever his assailants were,” Dale told the court.
Shakur did respond, but not with names.
Dale remembered him saying, “No, no, we’ll take care of it,” or words very close to that, and said the response was repeated more than once.
“I couldn’t get him to talk to me any further than that,” Dale testified.
Shakur died from his injuries six days later, leaving the identity of the gunman unresolved by police for decades.
The exchange has taken on added weight because it offers a rare firsthand account of Shakur’s condition and mindset in the minutes after the shooting, although Dale himself was careful to acknowledge that he was recalling wording from an event three decades earlier rather than presenting a recorded statement.
Prosecutors Say Davis Organized The Retaliation
Davis, now 63, is the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s killing and has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
Prosecutors argue that Davis did not personally fire the fatal shots but helped organize the attack and provided the gun used by members of the South Side Compton Crips.
During opening statements, a prosecutor told jurors that Davis allegedly planned the retaliation after Shakur and Knight were involved in the beating of Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, inside the MGM Grand earlier that night.
“Duane Davis did not pull the trigger,” the prosecutor said, according to the material presented by USA TODAY, “but what he did do was plan the retaliation for the beating of his nephew.”
Prosecutors believe Anderson was the gunman who fired from a white Cadillac into the BMW carrying Shakur and Knight.
Anderson was killed in an unrelated shooting in 1998, and the other men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac are also dead, leaving Davis as the sole surviving person charged over the attack.
Davis’ Own Statements Are Expected To Play A Major Role
A significant part of the prosecution’s case is expected to center on statements Davis made publicly and to investigators years after Shakur’s death.
In a 2019 memoir, Davis acknowledged being inside the Cadillac and discussed the circumstances surrounding the shooting, while prosecutors say he also admitted providing the weapon.
At a pretrial hearing, prosecutors argued that Davis likely would never have been charged had he not repeatedly spoken about the case himself.
Davis’ attorneys have challenged the reliability of those statements, arguing that portions of his book may have been shaped or misrepresented by a coauthor and that earlier statements to police were made under circumstances that should prevent prosecutors from using them.
A judge rejected efforts to keep those statements from the jury.
That makes the trial unusually dependent on old memories, decades-old statements and accounts from people who were part of a violent and complicated period in hip-hop history, rather than on the kind of fresh physical evidence normally associated with a murder prosecution.
Knight Wants No Part Of The Trial
Knight, who survived the 1996 shooting, is among the notable figures connected to the case, although he has publicly said he does not want to testify.
The former Death Row Records executive is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for an unrelated voluntary manslaughter conviction stemming from a fatal 2015 hit-and-run.
Asked about the Davis trial, Knight recently said, “Leave me out of it,” and warned that neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys would benefit from forcing him to participate.
Dale’s testimony nevertheless placed Knight directly back into the events of that night, describing him as wounded but conscious and focused on getting Shakur medical attention.
That detail does not resolve who fired the shots or what role Davis may have played, but it gives jurors another firsthand account from the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Three Decades Later, The Case Is Finally Before A Jury
Shakur was one of the biggest figures in hip-hop when he was killed at 25, and his death became one of the music industry’s most enduring unsolved crimes.
He had recently released All Eyez on Me, and his murder came during a period of intense rivalry involving Death Row Records, Bad Boy Records and street gangs associated with both sides.
For years, theories surrounding the shooting circulated through interviews, documentaries, books and public accusations without producing a criminal prosecution.
That changed in September 2023, when a grand jury indicted Davis.
Jury selection in his trial began the week of Aug. 10, 2026, with opening statements following on Aug. 17 as prosecutors started presenting the case they say connects Davis to the fatal retaliation.
Dale’s testimony is only one piece of what is expected to be a weeks-long trial, but his recollection brought jurors back to the first minutes after the shooting, when police still had a wounded Shakur alive and talking in front of them.
According to Dale, the rapper could have identified his attackers but chose not to, instead telling the officer, in substance, “No, we’ll take care of it.”
Whether prosecutors can now prove who “we” referred to, and whether Davis criminally helped set the shooting in motion, is the question the jury will ultimately have to decide.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
