On March 9, 1997 at approximately 12:45 a.m., Christopher Wallace — fondly known as Biggie Smalls — was shot at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard & South Fairfax Avenue after leaving Petersen Automotive Museum. 30 minutes later, on an operating table at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, he was pronounced dead.

The assailant responsible for Biggie’s murder is said to have been a Black male wearing a blue suit & bow tie. He was driving a dark Chevy Impala SS. After pulling up alongside Biggie’s vehicle, the assailant rolled down his window and brandished a 9mm blue-steel pistol. Biggie’s murder, still unsolved and widely speculated upon, came only six months after the also-unsolved drive-by killing of Tupac Shakur, Biggie’s well-known West Coast rival.

Of the four bullets that struck Biggie’s body that morning, only the final one proved fatal. The first bullet entered his left forearm, stopping in his wrist. The second bullet entered through his back and exited through his left shoulder, causing minimal damage despite its close proximity to vital organs. The third bullet entered through his left thigh and exited his left inner thigh, lacerating his scrotum in the process. And the fourth and final bullet entered his right hip, ripping through his colon, liver, heart and lung before settling in his left shoulder. He was 24 years old.