On March 9, 1997, 24-year-old American rapper Christopher Wallace, known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a shooting from a moving car. He was declared dead at 1:15 AM in Los Angeles, California. Before this event, Wallace promoted his second studio album, Life After Death, and attended an after-party in Los Angeles instead of going on a planned trip to London.
In 2007, Wallace's mother, Voletta Wallace; his wife, Faith Evans; and his children, T'yanna Jackson and C. J. Wallace, filed a $400 million lawsuit claiming the death was not the fault of the victim. The lawsuit was against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), saying that officers who did wrong things were responsible for Wallace's death. Retired LAPD officer Greg Kading said that Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records, planned the murder because of the September 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur in a similar shooting from a moving car.
Prior events
Christopher Wallace traveled to Los Angeles, California, in February 1997 to promote his second studio album, Life After Death, and to film a music video for its lead single, "Hypnotize." On March 5, he gave a radio interview to The Dog House on San Francisco’s KYLD. During the interview, he said he had hired security because he was worried about his safety. Wallace explained that this was due to the ongoing East Coast–West Coast hip-hop feud and the murder of Tupac Shakur six months earlier. He also said that security was necessary for celebrities who are very well-known. Life After Death was scheduled to be released on March 25, 1997.
On March 7, Wallace presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 1997 Soul Train Music Awards. Some people in the audience booed him. According to journalist Justin Tinsley, Wallace was supposed to travel to London the next day. Instead, on the evening of March 8, he and members of the Bad Boy Records group attended an after-party hosted by Vibe magazine, Qwest Records, and Tanqueray Gin at the Petersen Automotive Museum in the Carthay Circle neighborhood of Los Angeles. Other guests included Faith Evans, Queen Latifah, Aaliyah, Chris Tucker, the Wayans brothers, Ginuwine, Irv Gotti, Jewell, Jermaine Dupri, The Lox, Da Brat, Xscape, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Goodie Mob, Martin Lawrence, Kenny Burns, Russell Simmons, Ricky Bell, DJ Clue, J-Flexx, Clark Kent, DJ Quik, Ed Lover, Grant Hill, Tamia, and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs. More than 1,000 people attended the event.
Shooting
On March 9, 1997, at 12:30 a.m. PST, Wallace left with his group in two green 1997 Chevrolet Suburbans to go to an after-party at Steve Stoute’s home in the Hollywood Hills. Before leaving, the Los Angeles Fire Department had shut down the party early due to smoking, loud music, and overcrowding. Wallace sat in the front passenger seat with his associates Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease, and driver Gregory "G-Money" Young. Sean Combs was in the other vehicle with Eugene "Gene" Deal, Anthony "Tone" Jacobs, Stevie J, and driver Kenny Story. The two SUVs were followed by a Chevrolet Blazer driven by an off-duty Inglewood police officer named Reggie Blaylock and carrying Bad Boy Records’ director of security, Paul Offord.
By 12:45 a.m., the streets near the museum were crowded with people leaving. Wallace’s SUV stopped at a red light at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax Avenue, 50 yards (46 meters) away. A dark-colored 1994–1996 Chevrolet Impala SS pulled alongside Wallace’s Suburban. The driver of the Impala, a Black man wearing a light blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, pulled out a 9 mm pistol, and fired six shots into the Suburban. Biggie was hit by four bullets. Wallace’s group rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors performed an emergency surgery, but he was declared dead at 1:15 a.m. at the age of 24.
Aftermath
In December 2012, fifteen years after Wallace's death, an official medical report about his injuries was made public. The report stated that three of the four bullets that struck him were not deadly. The first bullet hit his left forearm and traveled to his wrist. The second bullet struck his back, avoided all important organs, and exited through his left shoulder. The third bullet hit his left thigh and exited through his inner thigh. The report noted that the third bullet also struck the left side of the scrotum, causing a small, straight cut measuring 3⁄8 inch (10 mm). The fourth bullet was deadly. It entered through Wallace's right hip, damaged several important organs, including his colon, liver, heart, and the upper part of his left lung, and stopped in his left shoulder area. Wallace's death was mourned by hip-hop artists and fans around the world. American rapper Nas said that Wallace's death, along with that of Shakur, was "nearly the end of rap."
Investigation
After Wallace was shot, news reports connected his death to the earlier murder of Shakur, because both killings involved drive-by shootings and were linked to a famous feud between East Coast and West Coast hip hop groups. Shakur and Wallace were important figures in this feud. Earlier, some media had guessed Wallace might be connected to Shakur’s murder, but no proof was ever found. Soon after Wallace’s death, reporters Chuck Philips and Matt Lait from the Los Angeles Times said the main suspect was a member of the Southside Crips, who acted for personal financial reasons, not for the gang. However, the investigation did not progress, and no one was charged.
In 2002, a book titled LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan included information about Wallace and Shakur’s murders, based on details from retired LAPD detective Russell Poole. The book claimed that Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records and a known Bloods member, worked with a corrupt LAPD officer, David Mack, to kill Wallace and make it look like the feud caused both deaths. The book said Amir Muhammad, an associate of Mack, was the killer. This idea came from an informant named Psycho Mike and because Muhammad looked similar to the suspect in a police sketch.
In 2002, filmmaker Nick Broomfield made a documentary called Biggie & Tupac, based on Sullivan’s book. The New York Times said the documentary used weak evidence and did not present other ideas or question its sources. The film’s claim that Wallace was killed to reduce suspicion about Shakur’s murder was called unsupported.
In 2005, a Rolling Stone article by Sullivan accused the LAPD of ignoring clues about Death Row Records, using evidence from Poole. Sullivan said Sean Combs did not fully help the investigation, and Poole claimed Combs told others not to cooperate. Later, the Los Angeles Times questioned Sullivan’s claims, calling his methods poor. Sullivan responded by quoting the Wallace family’s lawyer, who accused the newspaper of helping hide the truth.
The New York Times noted that many books, documentaries, and articles have made guesses about Wallace’s murder, involving gangs, corrupt police, and the hip hop feud. These stories have become big business. In 2018, a film called City of Lies was made based on Poole’s work and Sullivan’s book, with Johnny Depp playing Poole.
The Los Angeles Times reported different theories about Wallace’s murder in different sections of the paper. One section suggested a link between Wallace’s death and the Rampart police corruption case, which matched Sullivan and Poole’s theory. Another section included a photo of Amir Muhammad, a mortgage broker who looked like the suspect but was not officially connected to the crime. A reporter named Chuck Philips found Muhammad quickly and confirmed he was not the killer. Muhammad later said he was not the murderer, and the newspaper corrected its mistake. A later article by Philips questioned the reliability of Psycho Mike, an informant in Sullivan’s theory. In 2000, a book called The Murder of Biggie Smalls suggested Wallace’s death might have been tied to the hip hop feud and financial motives from record companies.
In 2006, the criminal investigation into Wallace’s murder was reopened to help defend the city in lawsuits from his family. Retired LAPD detective Greg Kading said Wallace was shot by Wardell "Poochie" Fouse, a Mob Piru gang member linked to Suge Knight. Fouse died in 2003. Kading claimed Knight hired Fouse to kill Wallace to avenge Shakur’s death, which Kading said was ordered by Sean Combs.
In 2012, the LAPD released Wallace’s autopsy results to find new clues. His estate’s lawyer criticized the release. The case remains unsolved. In 2025, Wallace’s mother, Voletta, died. She had fought for justice and sued the city about the role of David Mack in her son’s death. In December 2025, a Netflix documentary called Sean Combs: The Reckoning by 50 Cent claimed Sean "Diddy" Combs was responsible for Wallace’s murder.
Lawsuits
In April 2002, Wallace’s mother, Voletta, filed a legal claim against the city of Los Angeles, using evidence supported by Poole. She argued that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had enough proof to arrest the person who killed Wallace but did not use it. Mack and Muhammad were first named as people being sued in the case but were removed from the lawsuit before the trial started after the LAPD and FBI said they were no longer suspects.
The case went to a jury on June 21, 2005. Just before the trial began, Kevin Hackie, a key witness who was supposed to speak in court, said he had forgotten some details because of medicine he was taking. He had earlier said he knew about connections between Knight, Mack, and Muhammad but later claimed that Wallace’s lawyers changed his written statements to include words he never said. Hackie admitted he was responsible for making a false statement.
A few days into the trial, the lawyer for the family told the court that someone called him, claiming to be an LAPD officer, and shared information about new evidence related to Wallace’s murder. The court ordered the city to investigate, which found previously hidden evidence, much of it stored in the desk or cabinet of Detective Steven Katz, the main investigator in the case.
The documents included interviews by police officers with an incarcerated person who had been a cellmate of officer Rafael Perez for a long time. This person said Perez told him about his and Mack’s connection to Death Row Records and their activities at the Petersen Automotive Museum on the night Wallace was killed. Because of this new evidence, the judge ended the trial and ordered the city to pay Wallace’s family for their lawyers’ costs.
On April 16, 2007, Wallace’s relatives filed another wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. This case also named two LAPD officers, Perez and Nino Durden, who were involved in the Rampart scandal. The lawsuit claimed that Perez, who was linked to Death Row Records, told LAPD officials he and Mack (who was not named in the lawsuit) “worked together to plan and carry out the murder of Christopher Wallace.” The family said the LAPD “intentionally hid Rafael Perez’s role in Wallace’s murder.”
On December 17, 2007, United States District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled in favor of the city, saying the Wallace family had not followed a California law that required them to notify the state about their claim within six months of Wallace’s death. The family refiled the lawsuit on May 27, 2008, but removed the state law claims. The lawsuit against the city was dismissed in 2010. The New York Times called the case “one of the longest and most controversial celebrity cases in history.” The Wallace family had asked for $500 million from the city.
On January 19, 2007, Tyruss “Big Syke” Himes, a friend of Shakur who was accused of being involved in Wallace’s murder by Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV and XXL magazine in 2005, filed a lawsuit against those who made the accusations, claiming they were false.