Weapons & Guns

President Trump's call to Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. left a lot to be desired ... according to James.

We talked to him Wednesday on the heels of his $241k donation to the Waffle House shooting victims and their families ... and his Monday phone call from the White House. While James was quick to thank the Prez for reaching out, he also described the conversation as "lackluster."

It's worth noting, the call came 22 days after James heroically wrestled an AR-15 from a gunman ... saving countless lives. He acknowledged, Trump's a busy guy.

James also revealed he's having trouble at his job due to one giant misperception about him. Still, he says he's focused on his mission -- he just started a community service group in Nashville.

James Shaw Jr. -- the man who heroically disarmed the Waffle House gunman last month and saved lives -- just met with a bunch of fellow young heroes trying to save many more lives in the future.

James shared a pic with Parkland student leader Emma Gonzalez Saturday, saying he met one of his heroes today. Fellow student activist David Hogg also shared a photo with Shaw, saying ... "Wow, just wow ... lots of work ahead but the young people will win. #YPWW"

Sources close to David tell us ... he and a group of Parkland peeps drove to meet with James because he's a hero. We're told they had breakfast together at Denny's in Miami, and they're all hopeful to work with him in the future if the opportunity arises.

That seems highly possible, especially since James says meeting with the young adults of the Parkland incident with "so much fire and inspiration in their eyes was a great joy."

Yo Gotti's concert Friday night was interrupted by the sound of nearby gunfire, and a person was shot dead.

It happened near the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri. The rapper was on stage at around 11:30 PM when police got a call that someone had been shot in a nearby parking lot.

Police and paramedics raced to the scene and when they got there they pronounced the victim dead.

Witnesses say a fight had broken out and in the middle of the melee someone fired a gun.

Law enforcement can't say for sure if the people involved in the fight and shooting had attended the concert, but given the time of night and the proximity to the venue it appears there's some connection.

One of the people robbed at gunpoint outside the UFC 224 host hotel in Brazil is a famous MMA manager, who tells TMZ Sports ... the robbers shoved their weapons right in their faces.

Very scary moment for Brian Butler-Au -- who manages big fighters like Max Holloway -- and is in Rio to support his fighter, Brian “BOOM” Kelleher, who's fighting on the main card at UFC 224.

Butler-Au says he was at a table on the beach with roughly 10 other people when the 3 men with guns rushed over and pulled out weapons.

"This guy walked up beside me ... he pulled out this handgun that had an extended magazine on it, put it up in my face and then he grabbed my phone."

Butler-Au says the 3 men -- none of whom were wearing masks -- ordered everyone to hand over their valuables ... and even ripped a necklace right off one of the women at the table.

"It happened really fast, but also in slow motion," Butler-Au says.

Eventually, the gunmen sprinted to a getaway car and fled the scene. Butler-Au says his group went right back to their hotel and started working with UFC security and local police.

The guy in the opening scene of Childish Gambino's "This Is America" video is NOT Trayvon Martin's dad, Tracy ... contrary to a flurry of social media buzz.

The guy in question is actor/musician Calvin the Second, who hopes Tracy doesn't see the video because he fears it will traumatize him.

Calvin told us he started getting calls this weekend from people who gave him a heads-up ... he was being confused for Tracy. Calvin was shocked, because he and Tracy don't look alike ... apart from the beard. He passed it off as "fake news," until he started thinking about the impact it might have on Trayvon's dad.

Calvin says he felt bad for Tracy since Gambino's video is filled with gun violence. Trayvon was only 17 when he was gunned down in Florida in 2012, and his killer was later found not guilty.

For the record ... Calvin says he wasn't hired to be a Tracy look-alike, and there's another bearded guy with whom he's often confused. You can probably guess who.

Tekashi69's manager appears to be off the hook for the Barclays Center shooting last month -- 'cause cops arrested a different alleged member of 6ix9ine's crew for that one.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ cops arrested Fuguan Lovick on Sunday, and booked him for first-degree reckless endangerment for a shooting inside the Brooklyn arena during a recent Adrien Broner boxing match.

We broke the story ... Tekashi's group got into a scuffle with a rival rap crew, and cops believe someone in his camp fired a weapon. No one was hit, and no one was arrested at the time.

While cops initially believed Tekashi's manager, Tr3way, might've been the guy who fired the lone shot ... we're told police firmly believe it was, in fact, Lovick who discharged the weapon. However, Tr3way is still under investigation for another shooting just hours before the event, when he was allegedly caught on camera chasing after a tailing car.

UFC star Paige VanZant says her USO military tour wasn't just laughs and choking exhibitions ... one of the bases she visited was attacked while she was there!

"We got shot at," Paige said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... "One of the bases we were at got shot at!"

"We all had to like duck and hide under the table until it was all clear ... until they could deflect the fire coming into the base."

Unclear which U.S. military base took the fire -- but Paige says the attack went down last month, while she and Max Holloway were visiting troops in several countries ... including Japan and Afghanistan.

"It was really scary," Paige said ... "but it was awesome and it was worth it because I got to see what our troops go through every single day."

Kodak Black is wiping the slate clean by dumping his name and flipping his initials -- cause he's now Bill K. Kapri ... and it's all legal and stuff.

TMZ has learned the currently jailed rapper requested, and was granted, the name change by a Florida judge. Bill's attorney, Bradford Cohen tells us his client wanted a "fresh start" in the middle of everything going on with him now. Fun fact: His real name was Dieuson Octave.

We're told he'll still go by Kodak, professionally, when he gets out of jail ... possibly as early as October. As we've reported, he's doing time in a Florida jail for 2 probation violations.

More good news for Bill -- a child services investigation against him has been dropped ... according to Cohen. We're told the agency launched its probe after the January arrest where his child was in the house along with marijuana and ammunition.

Bill has been taking parenting classes while he's in jail, along with working on his GED. Congrats, BK.

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. appeared on 'Ellen' and revealed that his favorite player is Dwyane Wade ... so, guess who Ellen brought out onstage?!

BOOM! SHE BROUGHT OUT D-WADE!!!

The moment was incredible ... Wade told Shaw that he doesn't just consider him an "American hero" -- but he's also the perfect role model for his kids.

Shaw was clearly touched by Wade's words -- but it didn't stop there.

Wade asked Shaw what good he hopes can come from the terrible April 22 shooting in Nashville, TN -- and Shaw said he's now on a mission to bring awareness to mental health problems in the U.S.

Wade, again impressed, then brought out a special gift to help Shaw fulfill his mission.

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. -- the man who wrestled an AR-15 out of the hands of a shooter -- got one helluva hero's welcome at the Nashville Predators game Sunday ... and it was awesome!

The NHL team invited Shaw and his family as VIP guests to the playoff game vs. the Winnipeg Jets to thank him for the bravery he showed during the April 22 attack at a Nashville-area Waffle House.

Before the game, Shaw (wearing a shirt that said, "Spread Love") met with Preds coach, Peter Laviolette -- who presented Shaw with his own personalized jersey.

During the game, Shaw was featured on the big stadium screen at Bridgestone Arena and the crowd went WILD!!

As for the game, it was a fight -- but the Predators managed to pull off a 5-4 victory in double overtime.

By the way, Shaw's injuries seem to be doing a lot better. He's no longer wearing the wraps around his hands -- which he had burned by grabbing the piping hot barrel of the gun, after it had fired several rounds, and ripping it away from the shooter.

John Rambo, meet the guy who killed Osama bin Laden -- now play nice.

Ex-U.S. Navy Seal Robert O'Neill posted a photo Saturday of himself wearing a shirt from Sylvester Stallone's clothing store -- the Sly Stallone Shop -- featuring one of the actor's most iconic characters in an iconic shot ... Rambo taking his mug shot in 'First Blood.'

The American hero -- who's credited with firing the head shots that took down bin Laden -- also shouted out New York's finest in his caption, saying ... "The only guy with a better mugshot than me is Rocky! In the presence of badasses: Rambo and the NYPD!"

Funny enough, Sly's clothing IG account gave him some love back, re-posting his pic and saying ... "Truly an honor to have American hero @mchooyah Robert O’Neill wearing our Rambo mugshot shirt."

Chief Keef is off the hook after his former music producer accused him of breaking into his home and then beating and robbing him with an AK-47 in hand.

According to legal docs, prosecutors decided not to move forward with charges against Chief and other suspects who were allegedly present during the 2017 altercation, because there were significant issues with key witnesses.

According to the paperwork, obtained by TMZ, Chief's ex-producer, Ramsay Tha Great -- who publicly accused Chief of the crime -- has since been convicted on charges of pimping and human trafficking ... he's now serving 10 years in prison.

Not only that ... another key witness, who was also apparently robbed, has gone completely MIA after cooperating with cops at first. Considering the circumstances ... the District Attorney's Office decided there simply wasn't enough evidence to move forward.

We broke the story ... Chief was arrested last January after police searched his home based off a warrant in connection to the case. Ramsay took to social media at the time to detail the alleged assault ... touting the fact he was "ratting," but didn't care.

Tekashi69 is now persona non grata at the Barclays Center, so he's been axed from the lineup of a big upcoming event there ... TMZ has learned.

A source connected to Brooklyn's Soulfrito Fest 2018 tells us ... 6ix9ine will no longer be performing at the show due to an ongoing police investigation of a shooting at the venue connected to the rapper's manager.

We broke the story ... the shooting allegedly went down inside the Barclays Center during last weekend's Adrien Broner fight after Tekashi's crew had an altercation with a rival rap crew headed by Brooklyn-based MC Casanova.

6ix9ine's manager, Tr3yway, is a person of interest in the shooting, along with another shooting hours earlier in the streets of Brooklyn.

The Soulfrito show was announced months ago, and Tekashi69 was one of the most highly anticipated acts on the lineup of more than a dozen performers. No word yet if Barclays will offer refunds to disappointed 6ix9ine fans. The venue declined to comment.

The "Cops" crew member who was shot and killed during a shootout got caught between officers and the robber who was trying to escape ... is now seen on video for the first time.

A judge just released the "Cops" camera crew footage of the 2014 incident, which left audio operator Bryce Dion dead. He was shot by a cop who was firing while chasing a suspect who'd just robbed a Wendy's in Omaha.

When the shootout ends you see the cameraman running out to the parking lot, trying to capture footage as the officers captured the suspect -- but first, he sees Bryce on the floor. He was still moving, but he eventually died from his wounds.

As we reported, Bryce's family sued the city of Omaha for wrongful death. The 3 officers involved in the shooting were cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Nick Diaz says the Floyd Mayweather shooting was "f*cked up" -- especially because he knows a couple of guys in Floyd's entourage who were in the van during the attack.

"That was my boy that got shot I think," Diaz said before sending a message to the guy -- "I hope you feel better, you got shot."

As we previously reported, Mayweather's longtime TMT bodyguard, Greg La Rosa, was hit in the leg when a gunman ambushed Floyd's crew in Atlanta. Greg is recovering and should be okay.

Diaz said there's really nothing Mayweather's team could have done to prevent the shooting -- explaining, "Sometimes it's just gonna go down."

"When it goes down, it goes down."

Steve Scalise wishes he could be out on the baseball field with his GOP pals almost a year after he was shot at the Congressional baseball team practice -- and he also has advice for Kanye West on his future run for Prez.

We got the Republican House Majority Whip Wednesday at Reagan National Airport, and asked what he thought of Sen. Jeff Flake and other members of the GOP holding their first practice since a gunman opened fire. Scalise suffered severe internal bleeding from a gunshot to his hip.

Steve, who was walking with minor support from crutches, said he's glad Congress is keeping up the tradition and hopes to get back out there himself soon.

In regards to Kanye -- who's publicly reaffirming his love for President Trump -- Scalise sounded excited to have West's backing.

He did have one request for Kanye though ... IF the rapper's serious about getting into politics, himself. It has do with his timing, and it seems like 'Ye is fully on board with Rep. Scalise's plan.