Skip to Content
Fairfax

12 Years Ago… ~ Notorious B.I.G.

9:48 AM PDT on March 10, 2009

800px-biggie_grafitti

March 9th, 1997. Shots ring out near the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax... the murder of Christopher Wallace. From Wikipedia:

On March 9, 1997, at around 12:30 a.m., Wallace left with his entourage in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel after the Fire Department closed the party early due to overcrowding.[33] Wallace traveled in the front passenger seat alongside his associates, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease and driver, Gregory "G-Money" Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards. The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy's director of security.
composite-of-big-shooting-suspect

Composite Sketch of Suspect

By 12:45 a.m. the streets were crowded with people leaving the event. Wallace's truck stopped at a red light 50 yards from the museum. A black Chevy Impala pulled up alongside Wallace's truck. The driver of the Impala (an African-American male neatly dressed in a blue suit and bow tie) rolled down his window, drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol and fired numerous rounds into the GMC Suburban; four bullets hit Wallace in the chest.[8] Wallace was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center by his entourage but was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m

The murder has never been solved.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

From Pasadena to Palmdale: Two Contemporary Noir Novels

Set roughly 120 years apart, new novels by author Naomi Hirahara and actor/comedian Kirk Fox expose the corruption and latent menace just beneath the surface of the City of Angels.

August 29, 2026

Where Do the Candidates for L.A. Mayor Really Stand on Street Vending?

Mayor Karen Bass's team realizes that she messed up by trash-talking street vendors, but is Nithya Raman's campaign really pro-vendor?

August 28, 2026

Tijuana’s Prized ‘Tacos Varios’ Enter East L.A.

The border city's consummate working class taco arrives with rich guisados, handmade corn tortillas, beans, and rice.

August 28, 2026

L.A.’s Most Exclusive Poke Comes From a Car Trunk And Sells Out In Minutes

Some of the most euphoric experiences come from plastic baggie transactions. Eating Dover Sole Market's Hawaii-sourced poke is no exception.

August 27, 2026

Our Playbook Against ICE Burnout

The Daily Memo, as we knew it, did its job when it was most needed. Now, we are launching a newsletter called ICE Watch that goes right to your inbox every Wednesday—far away from the shadows the tech billionaires cast with their algorithms and the chaos they promote on your feeds. We hope you subscribe.

August 27, 2026