Weapons & Guns

George Zimmerman flashed a gun at the motorist who fired a shot into Zimmerman's car ... at least that's what the motorist is telling his lawyer.

Matthew Apperson's lawyer, Mark NeJame, tells TMZ, his client did NOT flash his headlights at Zimmerman Monday nor did he chase him down. NeJame says Apperson ended up side-by-side with Zimmerman when the famous former defendant waved a gun.

NeJame says it was pure self-defense, buttressed by the fact that Apperson is the one who initiated the call to 911. He actually had to hunt someone down who had a cellphone because he didn't have one at the time.

George Zimmerman was fleeing for his life when a man opened fire on his truck ... this according to Zimmerman's attorney who's calling BS on the shooter's claim it was self-defense.

Matthew Apperson admits firing one shot at Zimmerman's truck Monday afternoon in Lake Mary, FL -- and Zimmerman's attorney Don West tells TMZ ... George did nothing to set off the attack.

West says Zimmerman was driving down the highway when he noticed a car behind him flashing its headlights ... and when the driver stuck his head out the window to yell something -- Zimmerman recognized it was Apperson.

As we've reported ... Apperson and Zimmerman have a road rage history.

West tells us Zimmerman made the first available u-turn to get away from Apperson -- who also turned to follow him, and then pulled up on the right side of Zimmerman's truck ... and opened fire through the passenger side window.

As for Apperson's claim of this being a self-defense shooting -- West says his client NEVER brandished his weapon ... and cops confirm he never fired it either.

Zimmerman was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released. Apperson has not been arrested.

The 911 call from the scene is interesting though. It was made by a guy Apperson flagged down, and the caller says ... "He had to shoot at somebody."

Sounds like Apperson was already telling people it was self-defense.

1:05 PM PT -- The other person involved is Matthew Apperson -- and he is the same man Zimmerman had a road rage incident with last September. Police also say Zimmerman did NOT fire any shots, and Apperson called police to report the incident.

As for what sparked today's incident -- police say they're still waiting to get more info from Apperson and Zimmerman.

12:50 PM PT -- Lake Mary PD is holding a news conference where we're expecting more details about the shooting.

George Zimmerman was involved in a shooting with another man, and Zimmerman's lawyer tells TMZ ... his client and the other guy may not be strangers.

The shooting went down Monday afternoon on a road in Lake Mary, FL ... where Zimmerman lives. Police tell us they got a call for a road rage incident. News footage from the scene shows a bullet hole in the front passenger side window of Zimmerman's truck.

Zimmerman's lawyer, Don West, tells TMZ Zimmerman told him he believes he recognized the other driver as someone with whom he had a run in several months ago.

The lawyer says Zimmerman told him the other driver drove along side his client and fired into the driver's side window.

The lawyer says Zimmerman was not struck by a bullet, but rather shattering glass.

We do not know the race of the other man involved in the shooting.

Will Smith has career options if this little acting thing doesn't work out ... because this video of him training for "Suicide Squad" proves he can handle cold steel with the best of 'em.

Big Willie is obviously taking his role as gunsling super villain Deadshot very seriously ... because he hit up a tactical shooting range in Moorpark, CA this week for a full day of popping lead.

We're told Smith spent the day with Navy SEALs and Army Rangers handling serious steel -- a Glock 9mm handgun and an AR-15 competition rifle.

Our sources say Smith was a natural who progressed very quickly -- especially during long range practice with the AR-15.

BTW ... Scott Eastwood also stopped by recently for some 'Squad' training -- even though his role in the movie is still top secret.

The search for suspects in the Lil Wayne tour bus shooting might lead back to the Atlanta nightclub where he performed that night ... and a heated showdown he had with audience members.

Sources in Compound Nightclub this weekend say Weezy got into it with several people in the crowd. It's unclear what was said to spark the dispute, but we're told Wayne was hot as fish grease during part of his performance.

We're told club security eventually booted the hecklers, but just to be safe ... Wayne got extra protection while leaving the club and getting onto his tour bus.

As we reported .. the shooting went down minutes after the bus left the club.

Police have no suspects yet -- and continue to investigate -- but the near-melee could be a clue.

Lil Wayne's tour bus took on gunfire in Atlanta early Sunday morning ... TMZ has learned.

Wayne performed at Compound nightclub on Saturday night ... and sources tell us the shooting went down shortly after 3:30 AM -- minutes after Wayne's 2 tour buses pulled away from the club.

We're told Weezy and a few other Young Money execs and artists -- including Lil Twist and Hood -- were on board at least one of the buses at the time of the shooting. It appears no one was injured, and it's still unclear if Wayne was on board the bus that was hit.

Law enforcement sources tell us immediately after the shooting the bus was driven to a nearby hotel, and that's when someone in Wayne's entourage called cops.

We're told witnesses on the buses didn't see much -- their only description of the suspects is that they were in 2 white vehicles ... a sports car (possibly a Corvette) and an SUV.

Chris Johnson is FLEXIN' again ... showing off his arm strength last night -- nearly 7 weeks after getting capped in the shoulder in a drive by shooting.

The NFL running back was leaving Hooray Henry's on the Sunset Strip -- when we asked how his recovery has been going ... ever since the incident in Orlando, FL in March 8th which left one person dead.

Chris has been training like a maniac over the past few weeks -- so we had to ask ... where do you want to play next season? His answer is about as honest as it gets.

Lil Wayne is being sued by his bus driver who claims the rapper was trying to kill him.

According to the lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Mark Jones claims he was hired to drive Wayne and crew around for his 2014 summer concert tour. First stop: Buffalo.

Jones says he pulled over at around 11:30 PM for gas. He says Wayne became irate and started cursing, to the point the driver became scared and continued driving without refueling.

But Jones says Wayne kept his tirade going, threatening to pistol whip him, "whip [his] ass" and finish the job by killing him.

Jones says at that point things escalated, and Wayne came at him with a gun, cocked it at close range and demanded, "I want to get to the hotel now."

Jones says he obliged and the 30 minute drive was in total silence.

Nelly's tour bus got nailed by cops in Tennessee for a bunch of alleged offenses -- and the rapper himself got hauled off to jail for felony possession of drugs ... including meth.

A state trooper pulled over the bus Saturday morning for not having a required Dept. of Transportation sticker ... and when the officer caught a strong whiff of pot ... he decided to conduct a search.

Cops say they found a baggie with crystal rocks that tested positive for meth, and a small amount of marijuana in the sleeper area of the bus. They say they also found quite the stash of guns -- a .50 caliber pistol, a .45 caliber pistol, and a .500 magnum Smith and Wesson.

Nelly was booked for the meth -- a felony -- and misdemeanor marijuana possession. He was also booked for drug paraphernalia -- cops say there were about 100 small Ziplock bags commonly used for the sale of drugs.

Another passenger, Brian Jones, was busted for possession of a handgun.

A terrified Sandra Bullock feared for her life as she came face-to-face with her alleged stalker ... and an L.A. courtroom heard it all unfold Thursday as prosecutors played the disturbing 911 audio in court.

A judge heard the frantic call Bullock made to police as she hid in her closet from the man she claims stalked her and broke into her home. During the call, Sandra says she saw "the guy go upstairs into my attic."

A clearly terrified Sandra wonders how long it will be before officers arrive ... asking the operator, "Are they close?"

As we previously reported ... in June 2014, Joshua Corbett was charged with forcing his way into Bullock's house while she was inside ... cops later found an extensive weapons arsenal at his home that included assault rifles and machine guns.

Corbett was handcuffed in court while the tape was played. He's facing 19 felony counts including first degree burglary, stalking, and possession of a machine gun.

A private investigator was arrested with an arsenal of weapons ... he says while he and his son were mercilessly harassing Scientology leader David Miscavige's father, and at one point when it appeared David's dad was having a heart attack the P.I.s say David told them to just "let him die."

The claims are absolutely shocking. P.I. Dwayne Powell and his son Daniel were on a job in West Allis, Wisconsin in 2013, where Ronald Miscavige lived with his wife. Dwayne says he was surveilling Ronald Miscavige for a year and a half on orders of the Church. Dwayne says the Church was worried Ronald -- who left Scientology -- would "divulge details about the church's activities."

Dwayne says he and his son were paid $10,000 a week to tail Ronald, and harass him. They would search his garbage, sit next to Ronald when he went to restaurants, stand behind him when Ron went to the library to check his emails so they could view the screen, and on and on.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, Dwayne said on one occasion "Ron was loading his purchases into his car and slumped over while grasping his chest." Dwayne and his son thought Ron was having a heart attack so they called their Church contact. Dwayne says 2 minutes later he got a call from a man who identified himself as David Miscavige. The police report says Dwayne recounted that David told him, "If it was Ron's time to die, to let him die and not intervene in any way."

Dwayne was arrested in July 2013, after witnesses reported he was acting suspiciously. When cops searched his car, they found an arsenal of loaded weapons, including a silencer and hundreds of rounds of ammo.

Most recently, in September 2014 ... Ronald went to cops again and said he was still being followed and someone had gone through his trash. He told police David was afraid he would "speak with the media about the negative inner workings of the church and David's abuse of the members of the church."

David Miscavige's lawyer told the L.A. Times, which broke the story, that David did not know Dwayne Powell, hasn't heard of him, hasn't spoken with him and never hired him.

"Point Break" actor John Philbin pled no contest to a misdemeanor weapons charge for pulling a loaded gun while arguing with his GF -- and the judge told him ... Utah, get me 3 years probation!

Actually, Philbin's sentence was 30 days in county jail, plus 3 years probation -- but he was credited 26 days ... so he's got a short stint left in the clink.

The actor was arrested back in March when a neighbor told cops he walked out of his home waving the loaded weapon after a testy domestic dispute with his lady.

Philbin also has to complete a 52 week AA program and domestic violence classes.

Sporting a sling on his injured arm, NFL running back Chris Johnson posed for a photo for the first time since he was shot in the shoulder during a drive by shooting in Florida this weekend.

Johnson appears in the photo with two other men -- one of whom is sporting bandages on an injured arm ... and the other who is flipping off the camera.

The man with the double-bird is rapper Kenny Turner -- a friend of Johnson's who posted the pic and included a message that appears to be directed at the shooter.

"I HEARD YOU P*SSIES LOOKIN 4 me!!!!! WE GOT something in common....f*ck YA!!!! #juice."

As we previously reported, one of Johnson's friends was killed in the shooting -- and Johnson is not cooperating with police in the investigation.

Judging by Turner's message -- seems cops aren't the only ones on the hunt ...

11:38 AM PT -- Johnson just issued a statement on Instagram insisting the message is NOT a threat directed at the gunman.

We just got a recording of the call made to Miami Beach cops Wednesday, where a guy claims he just shot 4 people at Lil Wayne's house ... and sounds like he's making it all up as he goes along.

Cops descended on Wayne's mansion, despite the fact the guy promised a firefight with officers. He claimed he would "kill anyone and everything."

Police clearly did the right thing responding, but listen carefully as the dispatcher asks a slew of questions ... it really does sound like swatting from the get-go.

BTW ... cops are on the hunt for the swatter.

Finally some good news for NFL star Chris Johnson -- officials in Florida have dropped the misdemeanor gun charge against him stemming from a January arrest.

Johnson was arrested on January 9th after he allegedly rolled through a stop sign and cops found 2 guns in his car. According to reports, the guns weren't properly stowed, so he was arrested for "open carrying" of firearms. Johnson maintained his innocence and later pled not guilty to the charge.

Now, court officials in Orange County, FL tell TMZ Sports ... the State Attorney has officially dropped the case against the running back.

Johnson posted a comment on the situation via social media Wednesday night ... writing, "Gun charges was dropped yesterday due to no evidence of me doing anything wrong."

He continued, "Also me have concealed weapons license the arrest should have never happen #GOD100."

Scary moment for ex-WWE superstar Victoria ... when her husband confronted a gun-toting intruder at her Chicago restaurant ... AND BODY SLAMMED THE GUY.

We spoke with Victoria -- real name Lisa Marie Varon -- who tells us a suspicious man entered "The Squared Circle" restaurant this weekend and started making trouble inside the women's bathroom.

That's when Victoria's husband, Lee (who manages the joint) approached the man to find out what the hell he was up to.

According to Victoria, the man tried to push his way into the kitchen ... so Lee sprung into action and attempted to physically restrain him.

Lee says he saw the man reaching for his waistband and believed he had a gun -- so he slammed the guy down to the ground.

Turns out, Lee's instincts were right ... the guy did have a gun -- which was quickly recovered by one of the cooks.

Cops were called to the scene and arrested 18-year-old Arnez Harper on a count of felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

"He (my husband) used to be a bouncer when he was a young lad," Victoria says of her hubby ... "I think that guy crossed the wrong person."