The Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls, was killed, aged 24, in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles in the early hours of March 9th, 1997.
The Brooklyn-born rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, had just left a music industry event at the Petersen Motor Museum at around 12:30 am with an entourage that included Sean Combs. He was a front seat passenger in a GMC Suburban travelling northbound on Fairfax and stopped a red light at the intersection with Wilshire Boulevard when multiple shots were fired at the car from a sedan that pulled up alongside.
Wallace was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was declared dead shortly later. An autopsy revealed that he was struck by four bullets, one of which wounded him fatally, having struck his colon, liver, heart, and left lung after entering through his right hip. The police investigation into the murder remains unsolved.
