Two 17-year-old youths teens murder a police officer and say that Tupac’s “Souljah’s Story” is their inspiration.
MILWAUKEE — Authorities say the sniper killing of a police officer Wednesday was a planned conspiracy by two 17-year-old youths, one of whom said he got the idea from a recording by gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur.
Arrest of the two was announced Friday after an intense investigation by homicide detectives. A high-powered rifle with a telescopic sight was recovered from a home in the near north side neighborhood where the shooting occurred.
Officer William Robertson was fatally wounded by a bullet fired from a vacant lot where police say one of the boys waited shortly after midnight Wednesday.
The other boy, an escapee from a juvenile detention facility, acted as a lookout, signaling from a corner telephone booth when the van approached, according to police reports read in court. The shooter fired shortly after it turned.
“He watched both police officers through the scope on the rifle and waited until the van turned the corner before firing one shot into the van,” Assistant District Atty. Jack Stick told Childrens Court Judge Russell Stamper.
The youth who is said to be the shooter has an extensive criminal record with five felony charges, including arrests for possession of a handgun and drugs.
He had been referred to adult court on those charges and was free on bail at the time of the shooting.
“He told officers he wanted to shoot a police officer because he had listened to a rap recording by Tupac Shakur, and that rap recording talked about killing police and he thought it would be something he wanted to do,” Stick told the judge.
He said the two youths had met Tuesday and discussed killing police officers and rival gang members. “One agreed to be the shooter, and the other the lookout,” Stick said.
Last Saturday, Tupac Shakur appeared in a Milwaukee concert that ended in a near riot when he insulted some audience members and his bodyguard flashed a gun on stage.
Shakur, 22, recorded a song called “Soulja’s Story,” in which he raps approvingly of “droppin’ the cop” after a car chase. More recently, he made a video, “Holler if You Hear Me.” In it, an armed attack is suggested on a police car in which a youth is being detained.
Like some other gangsta rappers, Shakur has had several brushes with the law, including one in Atlanta last fall on charges that he fired at off-duty police officers during a traffic altercation.
