Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.

Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
Location34°03′46.0″N 118°21′41.2″W / 34.062778°N 118.361444°W / 34.062778; -118.361444
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DateMarch 9, 1997 (1997-03-09)
12:47 a.m. (PST; UTC−08:00)
TargetThe Notorious B.I.G. or Sean Combs
Attack type
Murder by drive-by shooting
Weapon9mm pistol (exact model and brand unknown)
Deaths1 (The Notorious B.I.G.)
PerpetratorsUnconfirmed

On March 9, 1997, 24-year-old American rapper Christopher Wallace, known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in a drive-by shooting. He was pronounced dead at 1:15 AM. in Los Angeles, California. Prior to the event, Wallace promoted his second studio album Life After Death, and attended an after-party in Los Angeles instead of taking a scheduled trip to London.

In 2007, Wallace's mother, Voletta Wallace; his widow, Faith Evans; and his children, T'yanna Jackson and C. J. Wallace, filed a $400 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) alleging that corrupt officers were responsible for Wallace's death. Retired LAPD officer Greg Kading alleged that Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records, orchestrated the murder in revenge for the September 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur in a similar drive-by shooting.