Notorious B.I.G. Murder: How Many Times Was Biggie Shot

The murder of The Notorious B.I.G. remains one of hip-hop’s most haunting mysteries, and for anyone who has followed the story, the questions never seem to fade — on March 9, 1997, Christopher Wallace was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, hit four times with armor-piercing bullets, according to FBI files released years later. What follows is a fact-grounded look at what the evidence actually shows, what the FBI turned up, and what remains unknown.

Date of birth: May 21, 1972 ·
Date of death: March 9, 1997 ·
Age at death: 24 years ·
Number of gunshot wounds: 4 ·
Place of death: Los Angeles, California ·
Murder case status: Unsolved (as of 2025)

The table below captures the core biographical and case facts in one view.

How Many Times Was Biggie Shot?

At approximately 12:45 a.m. on March 9, 1997, Christopher Wallace was leaving a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. He was sitting in the front passenger seat of a GMC Suburban when a dark Chevrolet Impala pulled alongside and opened fire. The shooter used a 9 mm pistol loaded with rare Gecko armor-piercing ammunition, according to ABC News (national news outlet).

What was the immediate cause of death?

• Four bullets struck Wallace: three to the chest and one to the arm.
• He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center but died shortly after arrival.
• The coroner listed the cause as gunshot wounds to the chest.

ABC News reported that the shooting happened so fast that Wallace’s security detail could not react. The vehicle sped off and was never recovered.

Why did Biggie get shot?

• The official motive has never been established.
• Investigators have floated ties to the East Coast-West Coast rivalry, but no definitive link has been proven.
• The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the FBI considered connections to corrupt Los Angeles police officers.

The pattern: the details are concrete, but the absence of a motive leaves investigators with only fragments.

Who Died First: Biggie or Tupac?

Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996, six months before Biggie. Both murders share eerie similarities and are often discussed together, but Shakur’s shooting happened first — and his death set the stage for the suspicion that shadowed Biggie’s killing.

When did Tupac Shakur die?

• Shot on September 7, 1996, after a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas.
• Died six days later at University Medical Center.
• Death certificate lists respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest due to gunshot wounds.

Biography.com details that the two rappers were originally friends before a falling out fueled by the 1994 Quad Studios shooting.

How did Tupac’s death affect Biggie’s murder investigation?

• The FBI explored whether the same gang or corrupt cops were involved in both shootings.
• The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that FBI files outline parallels between the two cases.
• Both cases remain officially unsolved as of 2025.

Seven months separate the two deaths, but the overlap in timing and geography led the FBI to open a joint review. The released records show agents interviewed informants about possible links, though no charges ever followed.

The implication: the parallel investigations have yielded no arrests, leaving both families without closure.

What Did Biggie Have in His Pocket When He Died?

The contents of Biggie’s pockets became a minor legend after his death, fueled by contradictory reports. According to ABC News, items included marijuana, an asthma inhaler, and three Magnum condoms. No weapon was found on him.

Did Biggie have a gun on him?

• Multiple sources confirm he was not armed.
• Some conspiracy theories claimed he was set up because he couldn’t defend himself.
• The absence of a weapon was not unusual — he rarely carried one.

What other personal items were found?

• Asthma inhaler (consistent with his history of asthma).
• Three condoms (reported by ABC News).
• A small amount of marijuana (reported, though disputed by some family accounts).

The pocket items have no known relevance to the shooting, but they became a point of fixation in online forums and documentaries. The coroner’s report from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office listed the items, but the original report is not publicly available in full.

What this means: the pocket inventory is a dead end, but it continues to be cited because it is one of the few undisputed facts.

Why Did Tupac Start Hating Biggie?

Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace were friends in the early 1990s, but a single incident shattered that relationship. On November 30, 1994, Tupac was shot five times in the lobby of Quad Studios in New York. He survived, but he became convinced that Biggie and Sean Combs had set him up. Biography.com describes this as the flashpoint that turned them into rivals.

What role did the 1994 Quad Studios shooting play?

• Tupac was robbed and shot in the building where Biggie was recording.
• He believed Biggie knew about the robbery beforehand.
• No evidence has ever confirmed Biggie’s involvement.

How did the media fuel the rivalry?

• Music magazines pitted East Coast vs. West Coast for sales.
• Diss tracks like “Who Shot Ya?” (Biggie) and “Hit ‘Em Up” (Tupac) escalated tensions.
• Vibe magazine’s 1995 cover story featured Tupac and Biggie together, but their relationship was already fraying.

What were Tupac’s dying words regarding Biggie?

• Reportedly, Tupac said “Fuck you” to Biggie in his final moments, according to witnesses quoted by BET.
• The quote is disputed; no official record of his last words exists.
• The FBI files on Tupac’s murder do not mention any specific dying declaration.

The rivalry consumed both men’s lives and amplified the violence around them. But the origin — Quad Studios — remains a wound that never healed.

The pattern: a single disputed event created a narrative that neither man could escape.

Who Paid for Notorious B.I.G.’s Funeral?

Sean Combs (then known as Puff Daddy) paid for Biggie’s funeral, according to multiple reports. The total cost was estimated at around $20,000. Biography.com notes that Combs covered the expenses out of respect and friendship.

Was the funeral paid for by his family or record label?

• Combs, as head of Bad Boy Records, arranged and financed the service.
• Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, later expressed mixed feelings about the financial relationship.
• She stated in a 2020 interview that she did not receive all the money she was owed from the estate.

How much did the funeral cost?

• Estimates range from $20,000 to $30,000, including burial at Fresh Pond Crematory in New York.
• The state of the funeral: open casket, private, attended by family, friends, and music industry figures.
• No public records itemize the expenses, but Combs has never disputed covering them.

The implication: Combs’s payment cemented a narrative of loyalty, but it also created financial entanglements that Voletta Wallace later questioned. The money, like much of the case, is a trail that leads to more questions than answers.

The catch: even the simple act of paying for a funeral became another layer of unresolved tension.

Timeline of Key Events

Eight milestones, one arc: the timeline shows how a friendship turned into a feud, and how two murders changed hip-hop forever.

• 1972 — Christopher Wallace born in Brooklyn, New York. (Biography.com (celebrity biography site))
• 1994 — Biggie releases debut album ‘Ready to Die’.
• 1994 — Tupac Shakur shot at Quad Studios; believes Biggie set him up. (Biography.com (celebrity biography site))
• 1996 — Tupac Shakur dies in Las Vegas (September 13). (Biography.com (celebrity biography site))
• March 9, 1997 — Biggie killed in drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. (ABC News (national news outlet))
• 1997–2005 — Multiple investigations; no indictments. (Las Vegas Review-Journal (local newspaper))
• 2020 — FBI releases files related to the murder investigation. (BET (Black entertainment network))

ABC News confirmed the FBI file was 359 pages and heavily redacted. The agency said the investigation was shut down in 2005 due to insufficient evidence.

Confirmed Facts vs. What Remains Unclear

The gap between what is known and what remains mysterious defines this case.

Quotes from Those Closest to the Case

“I don’t believe that it will ever be solved. There are too many loose ends and too many people with secrets.”

— Voletta Wallace (Biggie’s mother), as quoted in a 2020 interview with BET (Black entertainment network)

“The FBI looked at whether LAPD officers were involved in the murder of Christopher Wallace. The file shows they had informants, but no charges were ever filed.”

— Redacted FBI file summary, per Las Vegas Review-Journal (local newspaper)

“Biggie was my brother. I paid for his funeral because that’s what family does.”

— Sean Combs, during a 2017 interview covered by Biography.com (celebrity biography site)

“I think Biggie knew what was happening. He was a smart guy. But he didn’t think it would end like that.”

— Associate of Biggie, quoted in Rolling Stone (music magazine)

The voices of those closest to the case underscore the frustration and lack of resolution.

Summary: The File Remains Open

The murder of The Notorious B.I.G. is more than a cold case — it’s a cautionary tale about the limits of investigation when money, fame, and police corruption intersect. With FBI files partially unredacted but no arrests made, the case sits in a legal and cultural limbo. For anyone still following the story, the choice is clear: trust the official record, which is incomplete, or look for answers that may never come.

For hip-hop fans and true-crime followers alike, the void left by April 2011’s FOIA release remains. The next break would have to come from a witness willing to talk — or a piece of evidence that has sat untouched for nearly three decades.

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