Dozens Saw Notorious B.I.G. Die

Mon., Mar. 10, 1997 6:00 PM PST by Elizabeth Johns

Police say they're still talking today to witnesses, numbering in the dozens, who were outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles early Sunday morning when Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls, was gunned down by an assailant who was "lying in wait."

During a late afternoon press conference, Lt. Ross Moen gave some sketchy details of the attack. Wallace and his entourage, which included producer Sean "Puffy" Combs, left the party and headed to their cars. Moen said the trigger-man, a black male in his early twenties driving a dark sedan, was "lying in wait" for Wallace. The gunman pulled alongside the rapper's Suburban and fired "numerous shots" before tearing off. Wallace's security guards gave chase, but lost sight of the car without getting a license number.

Police estimate there were as many 200 witnesses to the shooting, a majority of them in the rap industry and many from New York. Most of them are being cooperative.

However, some witnesses fled the scene and others are afraid to talk, fearing retaliation from the murderers, police say--another eerie parallel to the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas last fall. Police there complained that key witnesses haven't cooperated; although some of those witnesses claimed recently that the cops never seriously questioned them.

When asked if the attack was in retaliation for Shakur's murder, Moen said police were "not overlooking any possibilities." Investigators from New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas have been contacted.

Also on Monday, the coroner's office announced the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Wallace died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen. A spokesman said routine drug and alcohol tests will also be performed.

Reaction has been swift. Hip-hop stations in New York and Los Angeles have had daylong tributes to Wallace. Fans have created a shrine at murder site, with flowers, cards and photos adorning the sidewalk. "We are overwhelmed with grief by the death of a great artist, a family member and our friend, the Notorious B.I.G.," Wallace's label, Bad Boy Entertainment said in a statement.

Calling him a "gifted rapper," rival West Coast label Death Row also mourned Wallace's death. "The entire Death Row Records family is shocked and saddened by the death of Mr. Christopher Wallace...We would like to take this time to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of B.I.G.," a spokesman said.

"Having just had the untimely death of one of our own, Tupac Shakur, by way of the same senseless violence, we do sympathize with those closest to Mr. Wallace."

And, in a rather self-serving press release, TV comedian Steve Harvey said, "These problems are deep seeded (sic) and it will take more than one appearance on my show to bring about lasting changes." Harvey's heavily promoted February 23 show featured Snoop Doggy Dogg and Bad Boy founder "Puffy" Combs declaring an end to the bicoastal war.

Many in the industry hope Wallace's murder effects change in the brutal rap world. "I think that it's time that the authorities got serious about recognizing that the East Coast-West Coast thing is dangerous, and it's legitimate," said Don Cornelius, creator and executive producer of Soul Train.

"Gangsta rap glorifies violence," chirped celebrated rap critic C. DeLores Tucker. "We hope his death will serve as a wake-up call to everyone."