Weapons & Guns

Cardell Hayes is a HERO -- who saved MULTIPLE LIVES by shooting Will Smith before he could get to his gun ... so says the passenger in Cardell's car.

The New Orleans PD says a fully loaded 9mm handgun was recovered from Will Smith's car after he was fatally shot.

NFL running back Pierre Thomas says he'll be forever scarred after watching his close friend, Will Smith, get shot to death in New Orleans ... saying, "These images that I have in my head will never leave me."

Thomas was at the scene when Smith got into it with Cardell Hayes -- and says the whole thing erupted after a "f**king fender bender" ... not a revenge plot as some speculated.

Here's Pierre's post in its entirety:

"The last few days has been a whirlwind and I am still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. I flew out of New Orleans last night and back to Chicago because I couldn't think straight... I witnessed a close friend, teammate and a man that I thought of as one of my big brothers in the NFL shot to death OVER A F**KING FENDER BENDER!!!!"

"Why!? I just don't get it... these images that I have in my head will never leave me and I understand that and will have to live with it."

"I want to thank each and everyone of you, my family, friends, fans and the entire Who Dat Nation for all of your thoughts and prayers.... But let's send them instead to Will's family- his wife and 3 kids who have to be strong during this difficult time."

"People!! When is this sh*t going to stop?"

"There is so much senseless killing going on in our world, and I'm not saying that I have the answers to fix it."

"But I am willing to do my part to help and find a solution. My heart is heavy and I wish I could turn back the hands of time, but what is done is done."

Another bizarre twist in the Will Smith shooting case -- new video appears to show Smith's car rear-ending the shooter's Hummer and aggressively driving off ... moments before the fatal shooting.

In the video, obtained by Fox 8, you can see Smith's Mercedes hit a red Hummer (which appears to be the one driven by Cardell Hayes) ... but instead of pulling over to exchange info, Smith peels into the opposite lane of traffic and speeds off.

The Hummer then zips off after the Mercedes.

Willie Roaf is sick and tired of the gun violence in New Orleans ... and now, in the wake of Will Smith's shooting death -- he's demanding change.

The NFL Hall of Famer was at the airport in D.C. when he told us the entire New Orleans Saints organization is devastated by Smith's death.

Roaf also said the entire Saints organization is waiting to hear about plans for a memorial -- with Willie saying he's willing to drop everything and hop on a plane the second plans are finalized.

But Roaf -- who played 9 seasons with the Saints -- says the bigger issue is the gun violence in New Orleans.

The suspect in cuffs ... the car window shot out ... and Will Smith's wife screaming in pain -- all captured in dramatic a video taken moments after the ex-NFL star was gunned down this weekend.

The footage, shot by a reporter for NOLA.com, captures the tragic scene as emergency responders tend to Racquel Smith ... who can be heard screaming, "My leg has been shot."

At one point, you can hear a witness describe the shooting ... saying Smith threatened to get HIS gun before Cardell Hayes started shooting.

For the record, Hayes' attorney has said his client only fired in self defense.

Ex 'Bad Girl' Amber Meade just wanted to shake her ass and flash her assault rifle, live on the Internet -- but ended up having cops bust into her bathroom to investigate the incident.

The former "Bad Girls Club" star was on Periscope last weekend, doing what she does -- dancing around in booty shorts, but this time she did it with an AR-15. The video is hysterical ... Amber flaunts her assets for several minutes, until there's a knock on her door.

That's when her fiance yelled the cops were there, and Amber scrambles to hide the massive weapon ... but it was too late. Maui PD explained to Amber they'd received a call about a "girl with a machine gun online."

As for how the officers tracked her down? Amber tells TMZ, her phone's location services were on. Ooops. However, she wasn't arrested since she and her fiance are legal owners.

Ray Lewis may be harder on illegal gun owners than he was on running backs ... demanding that anyone caught with illegal firearms should get a MANDATORY 25 year prison sentence.

The ex-NFL superstar was going off about gun violence in the U.S. -- specifically in Chicago -- when he offered up his solution to stop the shooting.

"I would put barrels on each corner and I would give you 30 days to drop all illegal weapons in these barrels," Lewis said.

"And if you found yourself going outside of that, the moment I found you with 'em that's 25 years MANDATORY."

FYI -- first time offenders caught with an illegal gun in Illinois face up to a 1 year behind bars ... so Ray's plan is much more severe to say the least.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. opened the door -- literally -- to a gunman who pumped 7 bullets into Suge Knight's body ... and his lawyer says it's all a sinister, shocking conspiracy.

Suge's new lawyer, Thaddeus Culpepper, filed legal docs in which he alleges a Sheriff's deputy was working a venue -- 1 OAK in WeHo -- for the 2014 VMA weekend when he let the shooter inside the club.

According to the docs, surveillance video clearly shows Deputy Henry Boyd letting the gunman inside the club, shortly before shots rang out.

The docs go on to allege the shooter confessed that Dr. Dre paid him and a friend $50k for the hit. The docs then claim the Sheriff's dept. inexplicably released the shooter from custody.

Culpepper goes on to say he is privy to video shot at LAX which allegedly shows Deputy Boyd helping the gunman flee the country.

The docs claim Deputy Boyd was questioned by authorities about the shooting and subsequently resigned from the department.

7:00 AM PT -- Attorneys for Dr. Dre tell TMZ the claim is "ridiculous."

Tyga is taking shots at people slamming him for showing up at a Sunset Strip nightclub with an armed man ... claiming he's like a moving bedazzled target.

We showed you pics of a guy in the backseat of Tyga's Rolls Saturday night hold a gun as Tyga was leaving Hyde lounge. It seemed odd ... in the middle of the glitzy Strip a guy would be brandishing a weapon.

We're told Tyga feels the need for heat, since he typically wears north of $100k in jewelry. The word we're getting is that it's common in the hip-hop community that people snatch chains off rappers. What's crazy ... are they suggesting it's ok to use a gun when that happens?

It's unclear why the gun was out in the open. Sources connected with Tyga say the gun was being put away and the photog got a quick shot. As for why it was out in the first place ... we don't know.

Ray J went 10 steps beyond the concept of "better safe than sorry" when he rolled into a Detroit club Thursday night with a security guard who was openly brandishing an AR-15 rifle.

In this video, you can see Ray J and Princess Love leaving a club where Princess was serving as host ... with the overly-armed security guard in tow.

Michigan has an open carry law so, as shocking as this looks, there is nothing illegal about it. Watch the clip ... Ray J looks safe and secure.

The shotgun Kurt Cobain used to kill himself is now available for public view ... partly to dispel rumors police had destroyed the weapon to cover up his murder.

Seattle police released photos of the shotgun, but only after a court ordered them to do so.

A rap concert at a Little Rock club abruptly ended when someone fired 8 shots in the middle of an all-out brawl.

Rapper YFN Lucci was apparently too much of a crowd pleaser, because an adoring fan hopped onstage to get close ... too close.

Lucci tells TMZ, when the fan refused to leave, someone pushed him, and that was enough to start an epic fist fight, which was broken up when a member of the rapper's security fired 8 shots into the air.

You gotta see the video.

Chumlee from "Pawn Stars" has been arrested for guns and drugs after police raided his home while investigating an alleged sexual assault ... TMZ has learned.

Las Vegas Metro PD says officers showed up at his home Wednesday afternoon with a search warrant in connection with a sexual assault case. We're told Chumlee is the suspect in that case.

Our law enforcement sources tell us cops found marijuana, meth and at least one weapon during the search.

Chumlee was taken into custody and booked for drug and weapon possession. We're told the sexual assault is still under investigation.

Story developing ...

Katt Williams is once again locked up ... after cops found weed and firearms while serving a search warrant at his house.

The Hall County Sheriff's Office in Georgia say the warrant was part of an investigation into Katt that began on March 1, after one of Katt's bodyguards claimed he was beat with a baseball bat and choked after refusing to "engage in criminal activity" at Katt's behest.

The bodyguard claimed Katt threatened to kill him ... but said the assault was carried out by others in the group.

When cops raided Katt's home Tuesday morning ... they found several firearms, and "large quantities" of marijuana.

Katt was booked for aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and false imprisonment. Cops say they will also add the drug and weapons charges.

Chris Brown is striking back at a guy who got shot at one of his concerts, claiming it's not his problem.

Paul Briley says in a lawsuit he was shot a year ago during a Chris Brown concert in San Jose. He claims Brown is responsible because he attracts violence and should have maintained better security.

Briley points to the fact that there have been 2 shootings during Brown's performances where people have been seriously hurt. In the other incident at 1 OAK in WeHo, 2 people were shot, including Suge Knight.

Brown has now responded, saying it's the club's responsibility -- not his -- to protect patrons.

Chris also says it's unfair to say there have been 2 shootings at his concerts, saying the 1 OAK incident was not his concert ... he was just hosting.

Brown is asking the judge to toss the lawsuit.