Weapons & Guns

Why did WWE superstar Shelton Benjamin fear his life was in danger when he found a LOADED GUN in the glove compartment of his Budget rental car?

"Me being a big black guy in a car with a gun in it? There's no way that scenario ends well for me if the cops come."

Yeah, that REALLY happened to Shelton last week in Kansas City -- where he discovered a loaded Ruger pistol with a spare clip that somebody else had left in the glove box.

Shelton says his mind raced when he first saw the gun -- wondering if it was used in a crime and if cops would wrongly think it belonged to him.

But Shelton handled things the right way -- saying he called police immediately and explained the situation ... and cops were cool when they came to collect the weapon.

In fact, cops told Shelton they see similar situations with guns left in rental cars "all the time."

Yeesh.

We reached out to Budget for comment -- so far, no word back.

Hopefully, Shelton gets some free rentals out of the situation ...

2/14 -- The suspect has been identified as David Lee White, Jr. of Greensboro. He's currently being held on no bond.

Fantasia Barrino's dealing with another family tragedy -- the death of her oldest nephew, Tyquan ... TMZ has learned.

According to law enforcement sources ... the singer's 18-year-old nephew died of multiple gunshot wounds Tuesday morning following an argument at a Greensboro, North Carolina residential complex that spilled out into the street.

Paramedics attempted life-saving measures on Ty, and he was transported to Moses Cone Hospital ... but died shortly after. Cops have arrested a 21-year-old suspect, who's been charged with first degree murder.

Barrino posted the sad news on her Instagram Tuesday, saying ... "Auntie is So Sorry Baby. RIP to my Oldest Nephew Please Pray for his Mother and my Brother & his Stepdad." Tyquan, who went by T.W., was the son of Fantasia's musician brother, Ricco.

Ricco tells TMZ ... he's completely devastated, because he didn't get to see T.W. in the morning Tuesday like he usually does, and now he's gone.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested this weekend for domestic violence and possession of an assault weapon ... making this his 2nd arrest in a month.

According to the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Department ... Foster was arrested Sunday morning after cops responded to a welfare check and possible disturbance call. They say the 49ers star was arrested without incident.

He was booked on three separate charges -- domestic violence, threats and possession of an assault weapon. No further details were immediately available.

Foster was also arrested in Alabama about a month ago to the day for marijuana possession.

Stitches has a real reason to smile -- no need for that tat across his face -- because his lawyer scored him a pretty damn good deal in his felony gun case.

The rapper struck a plea deal that'll place him in an intervention program instead of behind bars following his January 2017 arrest for carrying a Glock and 2 magazines of ammo in his car.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Stitches can't possess any firearms until he obtains a gun license. He must also complete 25 hours of community service and a firearm safety course.

TMZ broke the story ... Cops busted Stitches in Miami after pulling out of a handicap parking spot. Stitches tells TMZ he's thankful the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is giving him this opportunity for a fresh start.

Cardi B's feud with the Crips is setting off a red alert, and the L.A. nightclubs where she's appearing for NBA All-Star Weekend will be rolling DEEP with armed security ... TMZ has learned.

Cardi has an exclusive deal to host at 3 clubs next weekend -- all under the same ownership -- and our sources say they're preparing for the worst ... as in, possible gang violence.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi's been flooded with violent threats from Crips who feel she dissed them by captioning a pic of herself in a blue fur coat, "I hate wearing Flue."

We're told the clubs -- Murano, Penthouse and Ace of Diamonds -- are tripling the number of armed security guards they'd normally hire. They've also put off-duty cops on the payroll, who'll be in uniform at the clubs.

Our sources say club management held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss how to handle the crisis. Canceling was never an option -- we're told Cardi's getting around $250k for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night gigs, and her team hasn't made a peep about pulling out.

Still, we're told club owners are taking the threats seriously, and want to make sure Cardi and all club patrons are safe.

Dana White is building a personal weapons room in his Vegas mansion (seriously) ... so he hit up the guys from "Pawn Stars" to buy a REAL combat-used samurai sword.

The UFC boss had a hard bargaining sesh with Chumlee and Big Hoss over a whole batch of blades -- which the guys claim can be traced back to the families of the samurais who used them.

And in a matchup of equally intimidating bald dudes, Dana and Rick Harrison negotiated for the final sword -- bringing his total bill to $69k.

White made hundreds of millions on the UFC sale -- so we think he'll be alright.

DJ Khaled's fiancee's brother was murdered after an alleged drug deal gone bad ... TMZ has learned.

Cops say Nicole Tuck's younger brother, Jonathan, was shot in the face after he allegedly showed up at a Bronx apartment Sunday to buy weed. We're told the apartment was less than a mile from Tuck's home ... he allegedly got into an argument there and was shot. He was taken to a hospital where he died.

Law enforcement sources tell us a 34-year-old man was taken in for questioning about the incident.

Khaled and Nicole had a son, Asahd, in 2016.

Super Bowl LII is shaping up to look a little bit like a militarized zone based on all the armed security running around Minneapolis ... with Humvees and whatnot.

Homeland Security's got their Special Response Team on the ground in and around U.S. Bank Stadium -- where the big game will be played Sunday night.

From the looks of these pics, HS staffers are strapped and ready to respond to anything ... with bulletproof vests, walkies and Humvees at their disposal. Makes sense ... big events like this have become targets for attacks as of late -- think Vegas, Manchester, etc.

Better safe than sorry.

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon has officially been hit with multiple criminal charges stemming from his robbery arrest in L.A. back in November, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the former Chicago Bulls star was arrested at a downtown L.A. apartment building after allegedly pulling a knife on the building manager, punching him in the face and demanding his security deposit back. He allegedly made off with a couple thousand dollars.

The case was kicked over to the L.A. City Attorney's Office which decided to move forward with 4 misdemeanor charges against Gordon -- battery, brandishing a weapon, criminal threats and carrying a knife in plain view.

We're told if he's convicted on all counts, he faces up to 3 years behind bars.

Young Dolph is keeping his eye on the prize after getting shot last year -- which, interestingly, hasn't changed much ... it's all about money.

We got the Memphis rapper at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta Monday where he told us he'd just dropped $40k on some furs -- keeping in line with his newfound (old-school?) focus after taking a bullet to the ass last fall.

As we reported ... Dolph came under fire while shopping in Hollywood. He was struck in the butt, but recovered just fine ... as you can clearly see here.

When it comes to other rappers avoiding trouble -- like Kodak Black, who just got sent back to jail -- Dolph's advice is simple. Duck and cover ... and remember the green.

Kodak Black got busted after cops saw his infant child surrounded by drugs and a handgun during an Instagram Live broadcast.

As we reported, the rapper got arrested Thursday in Florida and was booked for 7 charges ... including drug possession, child neglect and grand theft of a firearm. According to police docs, obtained by TMZ, officers responded to Kodak's home after someone observed the IG vid of multiple men in a bathroom rolling joints and playing with a handgun.

Police say the final straw came when Kodak's kid was brought into the bathroom, and was just inches away from a lit joint, and the weapon. Police say Kodak did nothing to get the child away from the danger.

The IG Live broadcast was still rolling when police came into the house.

According to docs, police found weed out in plain view, and got a search warrant. They ended up finding 94.9 grams of marijuana in his bedroom closet.

This is a first ... a star athlete with his own CUSTOM AK-47!!

That athlete would be Patriots LB James Harrison -- who showed off his new piece on social media on Tuesday.

He's dubbing it the "Deebo Draco" ... Draco being a smaller version of the classic AK.

Ain't the first time we've heard about Harrison's love affair with guns ... remember that 'Confessions of an NFL Hitman' feature back in the day??

Unclear if this is a scare tactic for the Jaguars ... but, the bottom line -- don't mess with Deebo.

Taylor Swift could have another obsessed fan on her hands -- because a 58-year-old man is claiming he's her boyfriend and needs a gun to protect her ... this according to cops.

Law enforcement sources in New Hampshire tell TMZ ... a guy was at the station for voluntary questioning on an unrelated case when he bragged he was the singer's BF. What's more ... cops say he went as far as showing them texts with a "Taylor Swift" as the recipient.

We're told cops got suspicious when he started asking how many states he can drive through with a concealed carry weapons permit. He also told them he wanted a gun to protect Taylor in Africa. It's unclear why he thinks Taylor will be in Africa.

As for why cops didn't detain him right then and there ... they say someone simply saying they want a gun to protect someone is not a crime.

That said ... cops tell us they're trying to contact Taylor's team to warn her.

Rapper Kevin McCall says he suffered 3 broken toes and a fractured tibia after being shot in the foot in broad daylight in South Central L.A. and he swears he wasn't the one who fired.

McCall was taken to Centinela Hospital in Inglewood Wednesday after he says someone put a hole through his shoe as he was coming out of a convenient store.

There was a rumor going around that he accidentally shot himself in the foot, but Kevin gave us the play-by-play. He says police took a report, but Kevin does not plan to take any further action.

Rapper Kevin Gates is just days away from tasting freedom ... but then again, he's been down this road before.

Little background -- the rapper served 5 months behind bars after he was sentenced for that infamous 2015 kick to a woman's chest. The day he was getting out, an outstanding weapons-related warrant popped up, and he landed back in prison with a 30-month sentence.

Fast forward to present-day -- Lindsey Hess at the Illinois Department of Correction tells TMZ ... Kevin's scheduled to be released on Wednesday, after serving 9 months. Hess says Gates is getting out on parole, and his release conditions include mandatory supervision and no possession of firearms.

Officials in Florida have impounded a truck registered to DeSean Jackson -- after cops found hollow-point bullets and weed inside the vehicle after it crashed into a tree.

But the twist ... the Bucs WR says he wasn't driving the car -- and he's pointing the finger at one of his friends.

Here's the deal ... cops say the Chevy Silverado was involved in a single-car accident on Sunday night -- the truck slammed into a tree.

When officers arrived on scene, the driver had fled -- and cops found 6.3 grams of weed and two .38 caliber hollow-point bullets. The ammo is legal in Florida -- the weed is not.

Cops saw the car was registered to DeSean and called him up. The WR later came down to the scene and told police the name of the friend who had borrowed the ride, according to NFL.com.

Jackson's rep Denise White issued a statement saying, "It was a friend of DeSean's who borrowed his car while he was out of town without his knowledge."