Suspect Arrested in Connection with Tupac Shakur's 1996 Murder

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who was arrested Friday, has publicly described himself as one of three "living eyewitnesses" to Shakur's 1996 murder in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a suspect in connection with the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, marking the biggest break in the cold case in nearly 27 years, according to the Associated Press and ABC News.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis was taken into custody Friday morning, law enforcement sources with knowledge of the arrest told the Associated Press. Davis was charged with one count of murder with a gang enhancement, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced at a Friday press conference.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said Davis was the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur, according to the AP.

At the press conference, authorities also said that the Shakur family is aware of the arrest and are "pleased with this news."

In Compton Street Legends, a book co-written by Davis, now 60, and published in 2019, he describes himself as one of three “living eyewitnesses” to Shakur's murder, according to the book’s description on Amazon.

Shakur, a Grammy-winning rapper who sold millions of albums, was shot four times in a drive-by shooting on his way to a nightclub in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. The 25-year-old was rushed to the hospital and lost a lung before succumbing to his wounds nearly a week after the shooting.

Despite widespread interest and speculation, the case went cold, with few public pronouncements about its status until earlier this summer, when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reopened the investigation.

Related: Nearly 3 Decades Later, Tupac Shakur's Murder Investigation Is Reopened

As part of the investigation, authorities executed a search warrant on July 17 at a one-story beige stucco home in Henderson, Nev. — a home connected to Davis — the man who has made public statements about being in the car from which somebody fired upon Shakur.

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According to the affidavit, which was previously reviewed by PEOPLE, the July search yielded an iPhone; a desktop computer; four laptops; a handful of tablets, several with shattered screens, one in a pink case; a copy of the book Compton Street Legends, an issue of Vibe magazine about Shakur, along with two black tubs of photographs and what authorities allege was “purported marijuana.”

On the night of the fatal shooting, Shakur attended a Mike Tyson heavyweight match at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas along with Marion “Suge” Knight, who had signed Shakur to his label Death Row Records in the fall of 1995. Later that evening, when Shakur and Knight were driving to Knight’s Las Vegas nightclub, they were shot at multiple times while stopped at a red light. (Knight was also grazed in the head by a bullet.)

Related: Tupac Shakur's Death: Details of the Rapper's 1996 Murder and Ongoing Investigation

Shakur is widely considered to be one of history’s most talented and influential rappers, with Rolling Stone declaring him one of the 100 greatest artists of all time in 2010. The late rapper was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, honored with a street named after him in Oakland, California, and awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.

It is unclear if Davis has retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.

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