LOS ANGELES — 1997 · Unsolved Case

The Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.

UnsolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

New York rapper Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G., was killed on the night of 9 March 1997 in Los Angeles. Shortly after leaving a music industry party at the Petersen Automotive Museum, he was shot from a car that pulled up beside his vehicle at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The killing came six months after Tupac Shakur was shot in Las Vegas and was linked to the East Coast–West Coast rap rivalry. The Los Angeles police investigated for years, but no one was charged. His family pursued legal action against the police department, but the allegations were never proven in court. The murder officially remains unsolved.

Date: 1997
Place: California, USA, Los Angeles, US
Category: Unsolved Case
Case Status: Unsolved
Coordinates: 34.0625, -118.3614 ↗

Timeline of Events

9 March 1997The artist was shot dead in his car on Wilshire Boulevard.
March 1997The killing was linked to Tupac Shakur's death and the rap rivalry.
2002The family sued the Los Angeles police.

2005The first trial ended in a mistrial over withheld evidence.
TodayNo one has been charged; the case remains open.

Sources

The New York Times — Rapper is shot to death (1997) nytimes.com ↗
Los Angeles Times — 1997 archive coverage latimes.com ↗
Wikipedia — Murder of the Notorious B.I.G. en.wikipedia.org ↗
The New York Times
Los Angeles Times
Wikipedia

Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.