THE handgun used to shoot dead Tupac Shakur was FOUND by cops 19 years ago – but never handed over to officers investigating his murder, it was claimed today.
A .40 calibre Glock was discovered in 1998 and ballistic tests later revealed it was the same weapon used to kill the rapper.
GETTY - CONTRIBUTOR
It was found in the backyard of a Crips gang member, in Compton, Los Angeles, but was not transferred to police in Las Vegas, where Tupac's murder is still unsolved.
The whereabouts of the weapon is now a mystery.
Records are said to show that the LA County Sheriff’s Department tested the gun in 2006 and it came up as a match for the one used in Tupac’s slaying.
A new documentary, which unearthed paperwork showing the gun find, claims that it disappeared amid prosecutor fears that it might spark gang warfare.
GETTY - CONTRIBUTOR
The producers of 'Who Killed Tupac?' say that investigators were concerned about violence breaking out given that the weapon was linked to a Crips member who had ‘beef’ with Tupac.
Tupac was gunned down on September 7, 1996, while driving through Las Vegas.
Numerous people - including fellow rapper Notorious BIG - were implicated in his death.
But the identity of the chart-topper’s killer has remained a mystery for more than 20 years.
GETTY IMAGES
GETTY IMAGES
GETTY IMAGES
One possible suspect, identified in 2002 by an LA Times investigation, was Orlando Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips gang.
It claimed that Shakur and several of their entourage had beaten up Anderson the same day as the shooting.
But Las Vegas cops discounted the beating from their investigation.
Anderson, who denied the claims, was killed in a gang shooting in 1998.
The final episode of “Who Killed Tupac?” is to air in the US on Tuesday.
Producers yesterday released a clip of them stunning Tupac’s brother Mopreme Shakur with the gun find news.