What to Know Trial begins for the man charged in the 1996 Las Vegas killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur. Now, the man charged in his 1996 killing in Las Vegas is going to trial. LEARN MOREShakur was shot in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. He was a leader of South Side Compton Crips at the time of Shakur’s death. Las Vegas police Friday announced the arrest of a Compton man thought to have orchestrated the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas.