Las Vegas Police Keep Tupac Shakur Murder Case Open After Confession from Alleged Gunman’s Uncle

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department issued a statement yesterday (July 4) explaining that its decades-long investigation into the murder of Tupac Shakur remains open, despite a growing online petition demanding the case be cleared.

Fans have grown increasingly dissatisfied with police in recent months following an interview with Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the uncle of longstanding suspect Orlando Anderson, featured in a February episode of the BET series Death Row Chronicles. In the interview, Davis claims the fatal shots were fired from the back seat of his car, where Anderson and another friend were seated.

Davis, who says he was driving the vehicle, declines to name the shooter, but his latest statement echoes the version of the story he reportedly told the Los Angeles Police Department years ago. During that three-hour interview, obtained by LA Weekly and first detailed by ex-LAPD detective Greg Kading in his 2011 book Murder Rap, Davis said Anderson killed Tupac. Anderson has long denied his involvement.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Davis said he came clean during the BET interview because he no longer fears retribution for publicly sharing his story. "People have been pursuing me for 20 years, I’m coming out now because I have cancer, and I have nothing else to lose," he said. "All I care about now is the truth."

A change.org petition, launched after Davis' interview aired in February, demands that Las Vegas police clear the murder case, regardless of whether the department plans to file charges.

"It is time for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to declare that the Tupac Shakur murder case has been 'cleared,' and to finally bring closure for Shakur's family, friends and fans," reads the petition. "We are not demanding that Davis be arrested; that is for our justice system to decide. But it is a charade for law enforcement to continue to pretend that we still don't know who killed Tupac Shakur."

The LVMPD's statement claims the BET interview inspired detectives to spend months reviewing the case, which remains open, but they don't plan to arrest anyone.

"We are aware of the statements made in a BET interview regarding the Tupac case. As a result of those statements we have spent the last several months reviewing the case in its entirety. Various reports that an arrest warrant is about to be submitted are inaccurate. This case still remains an open homicide case," the department said.

You can watch Davis' interview below.

See 13 Rappers Who Were Shot While They Were in the Spotlight