Shootings

Luigi Mangione scored a legal victory Tuesday ... 2 New York state charges against him have been dismissed.

The judge tossed out murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism. In his ruling, the judge cited precedent saying, "The [terrorism] statute cannot be interpreted so broadly so as to cover individuals or groups who are not normally viewed as 'terrorists.'"

The judge went on to distinguish Mangione's case from other cases involving terrorism ... "The defendant's targeted killing of one individual -- although abhorrent and despicable -- is not comparable."

1:18 PM PT -- A Discord spokesperson tells TMZ ... "During our investigation, Discord identified an account belonging to the suspect. We have not found or received any evidence that the suspect planned this incident on Discord or promoted violence on Discord."

They continued ... "The messages referenced in reporting about weapon retrieval and planning details were not Discord messages, and likely took place on a phone-number based messaging platform. We continue to work closely with the FBI and local authorities, and will continue to deliver prompt responses to their requests for assistance."

The suspected killer of Charlie Kirk was messaging with people over social media after the assassination last week, claiming a lookalike fired the deadly shot, according to a new report.

The New York Times says Tyler Robinson was chatting with 20 individuals online after the FBI released photos of Kirk's alleged killer, which were the spitting image of Robinson.

One person reportedly recognized Robinson, tagging him in a post with the FBI pics and asking where he was at the time of the murder.

Office Depot has fired an employee for refusing to print memorial posters featuring Charlie Kirk they labeled as "propaganda."

The situation went down Friday evening at an Office Depot location in Portage, Michigan ... and footage shared by attorney and Republican activist Matthew DePerno shows an employee identifying herself as a manager confirming the order would not be completed because, "it's propaganda."

DePerno claimed the Kalamazoo County Republican Party ordered the poster at 2:24 PM Friday and received a call from the store about 3 hours later notifying them the poster would not be printed because it was "propaganda."

The adolescent shooter who pumped bullets into 2 fellow classmates in Colorado is a 16-year-old who looks even younger ... a kid who was reportedly "radicalized."

Desmond Holly was identified by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office as the pistol-packing assailant who shot the students Wednesday at Evergreen High School, according to police. The Sheriff posted a pic showing Holly's boyish mug with sandy hair and acne on his face.

Cops say Holly shot one victim inside the school and the other outside before turning the revolver on himself and ending his short life.

Donald Trump gave an Oval Office address on Wednesday night lamenting the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk ... and warning that anyone involved with the political assassination would be brought to justice.

The president started his addresses by noting Charlie loved the country and was a deeply religious person who had a beautiful family ... before he turned his ire on liberals who he accused of creating violence with hateful rhetoric.

Calling him a "Martyr for Freedom" ... Trump said he lived and died for the values that are the bedrock of America, including free speech and the rule of law.

5:15 PM PT -- The person of interest connected to the Charlie Kirk fatal shooting is no longer in custody ... they've been released after talking to law enforcement.

FBI Director Kash Patel just posted on social media, "The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency."

A person of interest connected to the Charlie Kirk shooting is in custody ... according officials in Utah.

At the press conference in Utah moments ago, Utah Governor Spencer Cox clarified that they have a person of interest in custody.

Shortly before the press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel posted to social media ... claiming a suspect was in custody.

1:36 PM PT -- Fox13 Salt Lake City has spoken with an official from the University who said the school has surveillance video of the shooter leaving campus.

1:27 PM PT -- A spokesperson for the University is changing their tune on whether the suspect is in custody. First, the rep said the man was in custody ... now the rep is saying he's not under arrest and has been released.

12:49 PM PT -- Kirk is in critical condition at the hospital, the Associated Press reports, citing a law enforcement official with knowledge.

12:19 PM PT -- Turning Point USA tells TMZ ... "This is an ongoing situation. We can confirm that Charlie Kirk has been shot. He is in the hospital, and we are praying for him at this time."

Charlie Kirk -- the controversial conservative activist -- has apparently been shot.

Kirk was appearing at Utah Valley University Wednesday when a shot rang out. Kirk was addressing a large crowd of students at the time. It appears thousands of students were watching Kirk when the shot rang out.

Kirk was shot in the neck. Just as the shot rang out, you see Kirk clutches his upper chest area. We have seen video of the impact and it is extremely graphic.

Robin Westman -- the school shooter who killed two kids at a Minneapolis Catholic school last week -- went to a gun store days before the shooting ... and handled multiple weapons, security video from the shop shows.

New footage, obtained by KSTP in Minnesota, shows Westman walking into the store around 12:30 PM on Saturday, August 23 ... four days before the shooting at Annunciation Catholic school.

Westman walks around the store ... interacting with staff members and looking down the sight of a pistol and a rifle.

Florida State University is in shock after freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard was shot while visiting family in Florida.

The school said the college freshman was rushed to a local hospital Sunday night and remains in the ICU in “critical but stable” condition. The Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office told WCTV the shooting happened before 10 PM near the Havana Heights Apartments, where Pritchard was found shot inside a vehicle before EMS rushed him to the hospital.

"The Pritchard family is thankful for the support from so many people, as well as the care from first responders and medical professionals, and asks that their privacy be respected at this time," the Seminoles said in a statement.

The team's coach Mike Norvell said at a press conference Sunday this was a tragic event and their thoughts and prayers are with Ethan and his family. He said he visited Ethan and his family in the hospital Saturday night and is grateful for the medical professionals taking care of him.

Robin Westman -- the Minnesota catholic school mass shooter -- asked security guards at the dispensary where he worked about guns prior to his murderous attack -- and was also obsessed with playing super violent video games ... TMZ has learned.

A former coworker of Robin's at a Rise medical cannabis dispensary tells TMZ ... Robin started with the company in late March, and the two worked together up until a week before the shooting -- but Robin never really let on about the deadly plan, yet there were signs.

Our source says although they never heard Robin bring up guns at work ... one coworker told them in the aftermath of the shooting that Westman asked the security team about firearms, though it was not clear in what context.

The Minneapolis mass shooter was armed with heavy artillery and wore tactical gear when they shot up a church, killing 2 children and injuring 18 other people, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

Robin Westman went on a bloody rampage Wednesday morning at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis with three high-powered firearms and dressed in body armor, the docs say.

Westman brandished a Taurus semi-automatic pistol, a Mossberg shotgun, and a semi-automatic rifle, according to police. The shooter used all three deadly weapons to shoot through windows of the church in which adults and children were praying in the pews. Westman took the lives of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski while injuring 18 others -- mostly children and a few adults.

Robin Westman -- the shooter who killed two children at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis this week -- went through a breakup shortly before going on the rampage ... according to new documents.

The Minneapolis Police Department released a report Friday about a conversation officers had with James Westman -- Robin's father. They say James told them Robin recently broke up with a significant other and had been staying with a friend after the split.

We spoke to a neighbor who said they've known the Westmans for years ... and, the neighbor tells us this relationship was tumultuous at times -- adding that Robin's parents begged Robin to end it.

The mother of the Minnesota church shooter is reportedly lawyering up after her kid went on a shooting spree, killing 2 children and injuring 18 other people.

According to FOX News, Mary Grace Westman -- the mother of Robin Westman, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the bloodbath -- has retained criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry.

FOX News asked Garry why Westman hired a criminal lawyer, and Garry responded that she's "completely distraught," but is not complicit in the shooting, and needs someone to deal with all the media calls.

Caitlyn Jenner opened up about losing her friend Sophia Hutchins just a few months ago ... relating it to the grief parents at a Minnesota Catholic school may be feeling after a mass shooting took the lives of two kids this week.

The reality star got real about her sorrow on "Fox News at Night" Thursday, explaining she's been "dealing with death" for the past seven weeks ... and, it's been especially difficult in the immediate aftermath.

She said ... “Here I am dealing with my grief, and I just can’t even imagine parents who dropped their kid off at school and, like that father just said, ‘I’ll never get a chance to talk to him again.’ That is just so horrible. I’ve been dealing with grief, and these people have a long road ahead of them, and they’re going to be dealing with grief.”

Olivia Hill is urging the public not to blame the entire transgender community for the actions of one disturbed individual ... claiming identity doesn't matter in situations like the recent Minneapolis shooting, but actions do.

We caught up with the Metropolitan Council Member-at-Large of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee -- an openly transgender woman who took office in 2023 -- and she says Robin Westman, the Annunciation School shooter who was reportedly trans, was a horrible person ... simple as that.

Hill says she doesn't care about a person's race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity ... insisting all those markers should be stripped away when discussing heinous crimes.

Jessie Merkel -- the father of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, who was killed during the shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota Wednesday -- spoke out Thursday in a heartbreaking speech.

Merkel started out by calling Robin Westman -- the shooter who cops say fired more than 100 rounds through the windows of a church into a schoolwide Mass -- a coward ... adding Robin's actions robbed him and his partner of years with their son.

Merkel says Fletcher enjoyed fishing, cooking, playing sports and spending time with loved ones ... and, he asks people to try to remember the kind of kid Fletcher was, instead of thinking only of his tragic death.