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Retired FBI agent Greg Shaffer says hours of training and the right mentality helped the hero cops disarm the man who was shooting up a Louisville bank.

Greg, an active shooter prevention expert with 20 years of experience at the FBI, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," and explained just how difficult it is for police officers to deal with a situation like this, where they can't see the shooter.

Shaffer says the cops clearly had what he calls a "stop the killing before you stop the dying" mindset ... noting how Officer Cory "CJ" Galloway made a split-second decision to go after the shooter, even though his partner, Officer Nickolas Wilt, had just been shot in the head.

As Greg explains, Galloway did the right thing by taking cover and exchanging gunfire with the shooter ... ultimately taking down the killer, all while knowing his partner was in dire straits.

Greg says Galloway mentally stayed in the fight until the threat was neutralized, then went to aid his partner ... telling us it's textbook police training.

Officer Wilt was only 10 days out of the police academy when he responded to the scene ... and he remains hospitalized in critical condition, fighting for his life.

Comedian and former 'SNL' star Victoria Jackson felt the need to drop a TON of white-hot homophobic takes at a local city council meeting -- going off on an obscure tangent about homosexuality before, ironically, calling on people to avoid getting brainwashed.

Citizens of Franklin, Tennessee got their chance to speak at a city meeting Tuesday ... which at one point focused on whether or not the city would hold a Gay Pride Parade this year.

When it's Victoria's turn to take the mic, though ... she starts by bluntly saying God hates homosexuality, among other things -- calling it "an abomination."

She goes on to say God also despises pride, reading a verse from the Bible as proof. Obviously, that word was used as the motto for the LGBTQ+ alliance long after any of that was ever written.

While it might feel shocking, this isn't uncommon for Victoria -- she's been going on homophobic rants for a while now, including in 2011 when she called "Glee" disgusting after they showed 2 men sharing an on-screen kiss.

Since then, most forgot about her 6-year run on 'SNL' -- she instead was known as the self-proclaimed conservative Christian that would bash homosexuality.

Dramatic new video shows a white male security guard delivering a knockout punch to a black woman, who demanded reparations to cover her $1,000 grocery bill at Target -- and compared herself to Rosa Parks.

Surveillance video and body cam footage, first posted by the Daily Mail, showed security officer Zach Cotter clashing with customer Karen Ivery inside the store in Blue Ash, OH, last October.

As you can see, Cotter got into the middle of a heated argument between a store manager and Ivery, who allegedly asked for reparations to pay her eye-popping bill. Cops say Ivery told the manager she was "owed this" ... referring to the slavery reparations.

Police say Cotter told Ivery she needed to chill or leave the store because she was acting aggressively. Instead, she charged at him, backing him into his office.

That's when Cotter hauled off and socked Ivery in the face, knocking her to the floor. Cotter then called police, who determined he acted in self-defense and Ivery was the instigator.

Ivery was cited for disorderly conduct, served one day in jail and paid a $110 fine.

Ivery told police she wanted to have a larger conversation about "how money works" and "how it's been working in our community in a very wrong way."

Prince Harry is going to his dad's coronation next month ... but Meghan Markle won't be with him.

Buckingham Palace broke the news Wednesday, saying they were "pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th." They add, "The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."

Harry and Meg's rep issued the same statement, FWIW ... so they're all on the same page.

PH's attendance has been the subject of much speculation/intrigue for the past several weeks -- this after King Charles officially sent the invite ... putting the ball in his court.

It's interesting that Meghan is not going. On its face, you could argue it makes sense -- fact is ... their son, Archie, is turning 4 that same weekend (May 6). So, she technically has a good excuse to skip it ... the Coronation and the birthday just happen to fall on the same day.

Of course, skeptics might say she doesn't wanna go because of her rocky history with the Royals -- remember, she and Harry have accused them of just about everything under the sun ... from straight-up racism to passive-aggressive mistreatment, it's all been alleged.

One other interesting tidbit ... some reports suggest Harry will not be on hand for the full 3 days of celebration during Charles' big blowout, which will carry on throughout the entire weekend. People Mag, for instance, claims he'll just attend the crowning ceremony itself.

Seeing how Charles is going to be super busy ... you gotta imagine there'll be little to no time for him and his youngest son to properly chat and maybe even reconcile. But, with that said, Harry going at all is certainly a step in the right direction to mend this broken fence.

The saga continues.

For more royal drama, tune into our podcast Spilling Royal Tea, dropping every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.

Jay-Z's longtime love for Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat is being flipped into a tribute concert for the Louis Vuitton Foundation this Friday ... marking a rare live performance for Hov these days.

Roc Nation made the announcement Tuesday, in French no less, revealing Jay would be performing at the Auditorium of the Fondation in Paris. Yep, fire up that "Watch the Throne" track, stat!!!

Jay's performance is intended to pump LV's “Basquiat × Warhol. Painting four hands” exhibit ... which celebrates the 2 iconic artists' 160 canvas collaborations, and the event is also supported by Tiffany & Co., with which both Jay and Beyonce have brand deals.

The AR-15 rifle used in the mass killing at a Kentucky bank will soon be hitting the auction block.

You heard it right. Kentucky gun laws are so lax that firearms seized by law enforcement are required to be sold at auction.

There is one caveat ... the firearms can only be bought by federally licensed gun dealers, specifically holding licenses for the weapons they purchase.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg blasted the state law at a press conference Monday after Connor Sturgeon murdered 5 employees with an AR-15 at the bank before he was killed by police. Sturgeon had previously been given notice he was going to be fired from the downtown Louisville bank.

Greenberg fumed, "The laws we have now are enabling violence and murder. Think about that: that murder weapon will be back on the streets one day."

He continued, "It’s time to change this law and let us destroy illegal guns and destroy the guns that have been used to kill our friends and kill our neighbors."

Greenberg went on to say that leaders must act immediately to stop the "gun violence epidemic."

Kentucky is one of the most firearm-friendly states east of the Mississippi.

Kentucky has some of the highest gun-related death rates in the country, which some experts attribute to relaxed laws for gun purchases and a lack of training that's required for legally bought firearms.

Tristan Thompson's back in the NBA and back in the L.A. club scene with his brother-in-Kardashian/Jenner-dom, Corey Gamble -- they soaked up some nightlife after the Lakers took home a big fat W.

Kris Jenner's bae and Khloe Kardashian's baby daddy headed to Bird Streets Club in WeHo to celebrate Tristan's new team, the Lakers, defeating the Timberwolves to earn a spot in the NBA playoffs. They left together around 1 AM Wednesday ... in a chauffeur-driven Maybach. Nice!

Neither guy had much to say as they exited, but gotta figure they were in good spirits after the W. Shout out to Corey's stylist, 'cause dude was rocking an eye-popping Lakers gold silk leisure suit as he sat courtside.

Tristan didn't see any playing time during his first game back from retirement.

Obviously, playing in L.A. means Tristan's closer to Khloe, too ... and as we reported, the duo's been spending time together recently -- even hitting up a McDonald's drive-thru together.

BTW .. today is Tristan and Khloe's daughter True's birthday -- so, we're guessing he and Corey were hashing out gift ideas last night.

It was cloudy with a chance of hotdogs at the Philadelphia Phillies game on Tuesday -- 'cause some fans in attendance decided to turn Dollar Dog Night into a huge food fight!!

The wild scene went down as the home team fell to the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park ... a game where more than 58,000 tube steaks were purchased by a sold-out crowd as part of the promotion of the night.

The bargain was a massive hit with fans ... as the lines for the concession stands wrapped around the concourse as people waited an impressive amount of time to get their hands on some wieners.

But when the Phillies failed to give the spectators a win, a ton of people decided to chuck their extra franks into the air ... which resulted in a truly chaotic moment.

No word on whether anyone was kicked out or in trouble for the stunt ... but throwing anything at games is a big no-no.

Amanda Bynes was having relationship problems the week before she was found roaming the streets naked ... her ex-fiancé says they broke up ahead of her mental breakdown.

Paul Michael tells TMZ ... two weeks before Amanda's breakdown, she had disappeared for 3 days and finally came home with another guy. They argued, she said she didn't care about him anymore and they ended the relationship. Paul packed up his things and left their home.

Paul says he was shocked at her disappearance and behavior, because up to that point, she seemed stable ... focusing on her nail care business and seemingly happy.

He thinks something happened to her and whatever it was happened quickly, because when she returned home with the guy Amanda seemed like a different person. A little more than a week later, Amanda was in desperate shape.

TMZ broke the story ... Amanda was walking near Downtown L.A. March 19 without any clothes. She waved a car down and told the driver she was coming down from a psychotic episode. Amanda borrowed the driver's phone and called 911 herself. She was placed on a psychiatric hold for 3 and a half weeks.

Paul says he hasn't spoken with Amanda since he left their home.

Lil Uzi Vert's been going tattoo crazy lately, debuting a massive new piece on his forehead and a cross on his tongue ... leaving fans puzzled, yet still intrigued!!!

The “Just Wanna Rock” rapper paid a visit to Ganga Tattoo Studio in L.A. last weekend, and emerged with a black Cross of Saint Peter colored onto his tongue.

That might be enough for most people, but Uzi then enlisted celebrity tattoo artist Yatzil Elizalde to deck out his entire forehead with a design that sorta resembles a dreamcatcher.

Fans voiced concern that Uzi was turning to the dark side -- although, you'd think the Cross of Saint Peter would alleviate those fears.

The last time we spoke to him, he told us he's not much for religion and is far from satanic because he doesn't even believe in the devil!!!

He also stated he's completely sober ... meaning these tats were done under the influence of nothing but his own free will!!!

Loads of homes connected to infamous names have been demolished over the years ... so take a look at some pads with dark, dark clouds that have been met with a wrecking ball.

Jeffrey Epstein's Florida mansion was razed in 2021 -- while other infamous names like Whitey Bulger and Jeffrey Dahmer had properties surrounding their names torn down, too.

Harvey Weinstein recently had his massive Connecticut house torn down -- it's located on one of the most expensive streets in Westport, CT and he decided to sell the place in 2018, just as he started catching heat over his misdeeds.

The redwood home where Sharon Tate and 5 others were murdered was turned into dust back in '94 ... eventually replaced with an enormous mansion.

Speaking of '94 ... O.J. Simpson's Brentwood mansion got bulldozed in the late '90s, only a few years after he was acquitted for the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Pablo Escobar had a MASSIVE Miami compound smack on the water during his drug reign, but it was seized by the feds in the '80s ... getting razed in 2016.

Two of the people kidnapped in Mexico and survived say their captors tried forcing them to have sex with each other ... and their account is terrifying.

LaTavia Washington McGee and her brother, Eric Williams, sat with CNN's Anderson Cooper Tuesday to tell their story for the first time since being rescued following an abduction in March ... when the cartel took them and 2 friends, who were killed in the ordeal.

Cooper asks if there were threats or demands made of them during their time with the cartel, and the two siblings sadly say yes ... namely, that the kidnappers asked that they sleep with one another. McGee and Williams say they pushed back -- telling the cartel members they were related ... and McGee was pregnant at the time.

They never addressed what ultimately happened ... but it just speaks to how depraved these criminals are. From the way it's described, it seems like they only ordered that for their amusement.

McGee and Williams go on to describe a moment when they were being transported by the cartel members ... they say the abductors piled them into a truck with dead bodies and were moving them all over the place with the promise of eventually letting them go.

In the end, the two other Americans -- Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown -- attempted to make a run for it ... but were gunned down. The group of four was originally traveling from Texas when they were taken near the border city of Matamoros in dramatic fashion.

The cartel members held them up at gunpoint and threw them into the back of their vehicle ... but after realizing they had kidnapped the wrong people -- apparently, per law enforcement officials, they might've thought they were Haitian drug smugglers. The Cartel was trying to find a way to get the crew of 4 off their hands without facing repercussions.

Unfortunately, two people lost their lives in the drama ... and the cartel even issued an apology for how everything went down. McGee and Williams were found on March 7, and the bodies of their friends were taken back into U.S. custody following the rescue operation.

Tons of celebrities made sure they were in attendance for the Lakers' play-in game Tuesday night ... and they no doubt were glad they came -- 'cause L.A. won in an instant classic!!

Tennis legend John McEnroe had courtside seats for the playoff-clinching game with the Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena -- as did Michael B. Jordan, Jimmy Iovine and Corey Gamble.

All were treated to a helluva contest ... as L.A. and Minnesota went back and forth for about three hours -- before LeBron James' squad came out on top in overtime, 108-102.

It took a herculean effort from the Lakers superstar to get his team the victory -- the 38-year-old led all scorers with 30 points ... and was a huge reason L.A. came back from down 15 to secure its spot in the playoffs.

The win was massive for Bron's team ... if they had lost -- they would have had to play the winner of Wednesday's Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans matchup in what would have been a do-or-die game for the last spot in the playoffs.

Now, however, they're safely in ... and will play a series against the Memphis Grizzlies to try to continue their advance in the postseason.

Other celebs in attendance for the big L.A. win included Al Michaels -- who looked super chipper outside the arena before the game began.

Film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, singer Rosalia and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco were all there as well.

Halle Berry clearly loves a meal and a show, especially when she can get in on the action ... as she did while having an absolute BLAST at a drag queen brunch!

The actress gave the crowd and the paid performers a Sunday to remember at WeHo's La Boheme Drag Queen Brunch ... showing up with her boyfriend Van Hunt and a friend for some good fun and grub.

Halle's certainly enjoying herself in the video, doing her best to grind out some moves with one of the performers -- and the crowd goes crazy over the rare sighting. Not everyday ya see an Oscar winner cutting loose like this. God bless those mimosas, right?!

It looks like the pro queens had no clue she was gonna be in attendance ... but that didn't stop them from snapping some pics with Halle after her impromptu number.

As you know, the 56-year-old recently rocked the Internet by posting a nude photo on social media -- some gave the actress a bunch of support, while a few trolls took misogynistic potshots.

The heroic actions of the cops who put their lives on the line in Louisville as a mass shooter opened fire are now being seen by the public for the first time in newly released body cam video.

In a press conference Tuesday, The Louisville Metro Police Department released a series of videos -- including two body cams from officers Nickolas Wilt and Cory "CJ" Galloway who were first to the scene Monday at Old National Bank.

Galloway immediately grabs a rifle from the trunk of his cruiser, and both officers head up the stairs to the bank's entrance. They're met almost immediately by gunfire from the shooter inside the building, and Wilt is struck in the head ... Galloway takes cover behind a pillar.

After a few minutes, more officers arrive on the scene and try to get to Wilt to pull him to safety. The shooter opens fire on the officers again, this time breaking glass in front of the bank and giving Galloway an angle on the shooter, shooting and killing him.

The shooter, 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, an employee of the bank, killed 5 people in the massacre -- all of which were also bank employees.

Lala Kent says she had a feeling something was going on between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss before their affair devastated Ariana Madix ... with her suspicions dating back to the summer.

We got the "Vanderpump Rules" star at LAX Tuesday and asked about Tom bringing Raquel to his hometown back in December, when he was still dating Ariana.

Lala says the affair, which we first reported in March, was a shock to folks outside the reality TV show cast ... but she says she and Katie Maloney felt "something was off" months before Raquel visited Tom in St. Louis.

While Lala had her suspicions during the summer, she says Ariana didn't know Tom was cheating on her until March, when she was absolutely gutted.

The signs were there all along ... Tom and Raquel were rocking matching necklaces back in October, and she kept popping up at his shows and his restaurant, hanging out with him without their other cast members around.