Weapons & Guns

The court is finally hearing opening arguments in the Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion case  ... and both sides are laying out what happened the night Meg was allegedly shot in the foot by Tory.

Prosecutors kicked things off on Monday -- claiming that Tory fired 5 shots on the evening of July 12, 2020, striking Megan in both feet -- claiming Tory was set off after Megan insulted his skills by sarcastically calling him a "beautiful artist."

According to the prosecution, Tory's text messages after the fact admitting to being too drunk and apologizing profusely are pretty damning evidence.

You'll recall ... after leaving Kylie Jenner's pool party, Megan, Tory and Kelsey were said to have gotten into a black SUV with a man named Jauquan Smith, who prosecutors say drove Tory to the party and brought a 9mm handgun.

According to prosecutors, following Megan's alleged diss, Jauquan pulled the truck over and Megan and Kelsey got out of the car ... when Tory is said to have fired the gun at Megan, instructing her to "dance bitch."

As for Tory's side ... they claim the pair was at Kylie's home for a pool party when things went south and Meg was asked to leave. It appears the defense is trying to make the jury believe Tory was not the trigger man.

Tory's attorney, George Mgdesyan, also argued Tory's DNA wasn't on the gun and that he was wearing a swimsuit during the alleged incident, asking the jury, "Where did he pull the gun from?"

Video showing a deadly shoot-out between New Mexico State basketball player Mike Peake and a student from a rival school has been released ... and it's terrifying.

The surveillance footage, put out by New Mexico State Police on Tuesday, was captured on Nov. 19 on the University of New Mexico's main campus at around 3 AM.

According to cops, Peake -- a 21-year-old Aggies forward who was in town for NMSU's basketball game against UNM -- was "lured" to the area by a 17-year-old girl and several other male UNM students ... who were allegedly trying to beat him up over an incident that had happened at the UNM-NMSU football game in October.

The video, obtained by KOB 4, shows Peake initially had a gun pointed at him ... while another man ran in and hit him in the leg with a baseball bat.

As Peake turned to sprint away from his attackers, the clip shows he pulled out a firearm -- and began shooting. Cops say he and 19-year-old Brandon Travis traded gunfire ... before Travis was eventually struck and killed.

According to police, Peake was also hit by gunfire during the altercation. He's since undergone multiple surgeries, but is expected to recover.

NMSU announced earlier this week Peake -- who had started two Aggies games this season -- has been suspended from the school's basketball team indefinitely over the altercation.

Big break for Israel Adesanya ... TMZ Sports has learned the UFC star's brass knuckles case will be dismissed if he stays out of trouble for the foreseeable future.

According to a spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney's Office, Adesanya's case was called on Tuesday -- and he was issued an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD).

Per the spokesperson, that means if Adesanya keeps his nose clean for the next six months, he will no longer be facing criminal charges.

We broke the story, Adesanya was initially arrested back on Nov. 16 -- just four days after his loss to Alex Pereira -- after authorities say he went through security at JFK airport with metal knuckles.

He was ultimately issued a desk appearance ticket -- a written notice from a police officer -- and ordered to appear in court on Tuesday.

Adesanya's manager, Tim Simpson, told us at the time of the arrest that "Israel was handed a gift by a fan, which he put in his luggage. When flagged at the airport, Israel quickly disposed of the item, and cooperated with authorities."

Kim Kardashian just got some much-needed protection against a scary individual who not only showed up at her home multiple times ... but also claimed to be armed.

Kim's legal team was in court Monday when she was awarded a restraining order against Andre Persaud ... the ruling means Persaud is prohibited from contacting Kim and must stay at least 100 yards away from her. It'll last for the next 5 years.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Persaud showed up at her home at least 3 times back in August, she says she's never met the guy, and was worried he might escalate things to physical violence ... especially given the fact Persaud allegedly claimed to be armed.

If showing up at her home wasn't scary enough -- Persaud also allegedly posted about Kim on social media, and in one particular instance Kim says he, "claimed that I had been communicating with him telepathically."

The man charged for shooting Lady Gaga's dog walker last year just got a stiff punishment for the crime ... landing behind bars for decades.

James Howard Jackson was sentenced Monday to 21 years in prison in Los Angeles County -- this after accepting a plea deal from the District Attorney's Office. Jackson was one of five men hauled in by police and accused of carrying out the violent act in 2021.

A rep for the L.A. County D.A.'s office tells us Jackson pled no contest to a count of attempted murder and admitted the allegation of inflicting great bodily injury to a prior strike.

Prosecutors alleged Jackson was the one who actually fired the shot at Ryan Fischer that night in an attempt to steal Gaga's two French bulldogs.

Video obtained by TMZ showed the wild altercation -- the group literally rolled up and hopped out to attack Ryan, shooting him in the process.

Jackson was facing the most serious charges, attempted murder and 2 extra firearm counts, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle.

You'll recall ... he was actually temporarily released by mistake earlier this year after a clerical error by the Sheriff's Dept. Fischer told us at the time he was freaked out, and was calling on police to apprehend him swiftly.

In the end, they did ... and now, he's going away for a long time. It's unclear where things stand with the other four men connected to the case ... two others were also charged with attempted murder, while the final 2 were slapped with accessory charges, among others.

French Montana's late Coke Boys artist Chinx Drugz is still dropping new music 7 years after he was gunned down -- a fact his wife sees as a testament to the countless hours he spent recording.

Chinx's widow, Janelli Caceres-Pickens, and his former manager, Doug "Biggs" Ellison, painstakingly compiled verses, snippets and unfinished tracks to complete "CR6," his third posthumous project, and the sixth installment in the "Cocaine Riot" series.

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to Janelli about the release and she admitted it was exhausting, yet rewarding.

She also touched on the rash of rappers who've been killed at an even more alarming rate than when Chinx was murdered.

Janelli says she's been vocal about the recent string of tragedies -- such as PnB Rock and Takeoff both getting fatally shot in recent months -- and she insists it's misplaced to blame the pattern on hip hop culture.

Instead, she says it's criminals who are ruining the vibes ... although, she admits if she and Biggs weren't A&Ring "CR6," she'd be listening to R&B.

Nevertheless, Janelli is proud of the Chinx project, citing the song "Lonely" with Offset as one of her personal faves.

San Francisco is heading down a dangerous, slippery slope with its proposal to deploy robots that can use lethal force ... that's according to the President of the city's board of supervisors.

Shamann Walton joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and ran down a list of ways he feels the armed police robots could backfire, and he says hacking is a huge concern.

In case you missed it, San Fran's board of supervisors approved the robots in an 8-3 vote ... with Shamann being one of the few opposing. After the approval, he said voting against the policy didn't make him anti-cop, just pro-people of color.

Critics are concerned innocent POC could be disproportionately harmed when these robots are deployed at city crime scenes.

To be clear, San Fran's not talking about "Robocop"-like androids -- they're talking about remote-controlled machines, similar to ones already used by bomb squads. The difference is these would be armed with bullets and explosives.

Shamann says the department's reasons for using robots just don't track for him, and he gives several examples where they wouldn't be practical.

Proponents say the robots could be valuable in mass shooter situations -- like Uvalde, TX, for instance -- but Shamman says he, and many parents, wouldn't be comfortable sending in a robot when kids could be hurt or killed.

Brian Robinson knows the perils of gun violence better than almost anyone, and he wants to put a spotlight on the senseless killing ... the Commanders star will rock a sweet pair of custom cleats, with a very important message, this week against the Giants.

The 23-year-old running back, who was shot multiple times in August, copped his new spikes for the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" -- an initiative where players bring awareness to organizations and nonprofits during Week 13.

TMZ Sports has learned Robinson reached out to artist Joe Castro to shine a light on the incident where he was shot twice during an attempted robbery.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested for his alleged role in the shooting.

Castro -- whose client list includes NFL stars like Jaire Alexander and DeSean Jackson -- tells us he and Robinson decided to go with a gun control theme.

The tan and orange Nike spikes feature two guns held up in the air with text reading "End Gun Violence".

Castro says it took 2 hours to design ... and he actually made two pairs. One for filming and one for the Commanders-Giants game.

Idaho authorities seem to be back to square one ... they just reversed a key finding in their investigation into the slaughter of four college students.

The Moscow Police Department released a "clarification" on Facebook Wednesday night, saying they are now UNSURE if the victims or the murder house were targeted by the killer or killers.

The statement read ... "We have spoken with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office and identified this was a miscommunication. Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate."

Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson sparked confusion during a recent interview with NewsNation, stating the assailant/assailants were "specifically looking at this particular residence." He added the use of the term "targeted" was likely a mistake because it implied one or more of the victims were in the killer/killers' crosshairs.

Thompson's words muddled the message from Moscow Police Chief James Fry, who has been adamant since the beginning of the probe that it was a "targeted attack," but he never explained why. Police have not identified the suspect/suspects or released a motive. Few details about the crimes are publicly known.

Four University of Idaho students were discovered fatally stabbed inside an off-campus home on November 13. Investigators believe the murder weapon was a combat knife similar to the one used by the Rambo character in the '80s film, 'First Blood.' But, the weapon has not been found.

With the killer/killers at large and little if no answers from police ... many university students -- out of fear -- have opted to attend classes remotely.

Hot Boys rapper B.G. was centered in an internet hoax this week, and Gucci Mane took the bait -- but in doing so, he revealed the cards he's playing for the incarcerated Cash Money Records OG.

Gucci excitedly tweeted Tuesday ... posting a pic of B.G. with a $1 million offer to sign with his 1017 Records, highlighting the respect he had for the Louisiana-born rapper.

Once the purported video of B.G. was debunked -- it wasn't really him -- Gucci deleted the tweet ... seemingly crushing his hopes to boost his So Icy Boyz roster.

Gucci does have some open slots -- he recently dropped an up-and-coming rapper from the label in a 24-hour timespan -- but many signs point to B.G. returning to Cash Money if he stays in the rap game.

Cash Money boss Birdman has been teasing B.G.’s early release from his 14-year prison sentence for months … despite his 2021 conditional release being denied.

The Chopper City rapper is currently holed up in California’s FCI Herlong Detention Center with a current release date of April 7, 2024. He’s been incarcerated on a federal gun charge since 2012.

The prosecutor in charge of the Idaho quadruple-murder case says there's been a misunderstanding when cops said this crime was targeted -- apparently, they meant the house itself was in somebody's crosshairs ... not necessarily any individuals themselves.

Bill Thompson -- who's overseeing the investigation in Moscow -- told NewsNation using the word "targeted" to characterize this was probably wrong ... conceding it could've been interpreted to suggest one or more of the four victims were in the killer's crosshairs. But, Thompson now says that's not necessarily the case.

Instead, he said this home was actually what the murderer was laser-focused on, but he never explained what he means ... or why cops might think that.

Thompson does say they're still looking into whether any of the victims may have been the target, but for now ... it doesn't sound like they've uncovered anything to connect that dot. He also says nothing strange - like symbols are markings -- were left behind.

He goes on to say he's not aware whether the doors to their rooms were locked, and also can't say for sure whether they were all sleeping at the time of the killings. BT also says law enforcement has no reason to believe this was drug-related ... so not much clarity.

Cops have stumbled a lot since the murders, making statements, then taking them back, creating confusion in the community and anger among families of the victims.

Another update ... all 5 cars parked at the house at the time of the murders have now been towed. Cops say they're storing them somewhere long-term for evidence gathering.

It's been more than 2 weeks since Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in the middle of the night ... and the suspect/suspects are still at large. Several theories have been floated as to what may have led up to the crime, but so far ... nothing seems to be panning out into anything concrete.

Naturally, the public has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of answers.

The mother of the alleged Club Q mass murderer was arrested just after the shooting ... for going ballistic in her apartment and then going off the rails with cops.

Laura Voepel was allegedly screaming at the top of her lungs at 3:30 AM ... 3 1/2 hours after authorities say her son took a rifle and killed 5 people at the LGBTQ nightclub and wounding 17 others.

According to official documents, cops were on scene at her apartment when she was "warned multiple times to stop yelling or she would be arrested for disorderly conduct."

Cops say she continued her rant, and when officers tried to arrest her she became combative and physically resisted them.

Voepel was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Blueface and Chrisean Rock aren't sweating his arrest for attempted murder ... 'cause they partied their faces off last weekend, just days after he was in handcuffs.

The rapper couple attended two different events in Phoenix on November 18th and 19th. The first was hosted by CR at a club called Monarch, where she brought out her BF ... the 2nd was helmed by Blueface himself at a joint called Tru Ultra Lounge.

TMZ obtained video of the latter -- and as you see, only good times are on their minds ... as Blueface and Chrisean raged, drank, danced and even performed.

Blueface got on the mic at one point, and Chrisean boogied down. They looked pretty tight throughout the night ... sneaking in kisses and cozying up. You'd never know he'd landed in some boiling hot water just days earlier.

As we reported ... Blueface was arrested Tuesday in Vegas for attempted murder, where undercover cops swarmed in, taking him into custody in dramatic fashion.

He bailed out the next day and is due back in court in January. BF doesn't seem concerned, and ditto Chrisean. She's been fully in his corner since the arrest.

As for the attempted murder allegation ... we've learned there was an altercation in October where Blueface is alleged to have fired a gun at a guy who was fleeing a strip club after a joke was taken the wrong way. Blueface is in the video, allegedly firing the shots. Cops say the alleged victim was grazed by a bullet.

Idaho detectives say they are piecing together a story of what happened inside the house where 4 students were slaughtered, and they say video could be key, and not just what the videos show ... but what they DON'T show.

Aaron Snell from the Idaho State Police tells TMZ, his department is combing through videos which he suggests could provide clues, but then goes on to say, "What we need people to recognize is that often times what's not in the video might help us just as much as what is."

He goes on to say, "We can really create that whole picture based on what is there, what isn't there and be able to follow that through."

Snell would not get specific, but it raises the question ... is there an absence of third parties coming in and out of the murder house? As you know, police say the 2 surviving roommates are not suspects.

Police are looking at video the night before the murders, the night of the killings and what followed.

Snell says their hunt for evidence has been "very successful" ... video tips have been pouring in.

As we reported ... the 4 University of Idaho students were stabbed to death as they "likely" slept inside an off-campus residence. The assailant or assailants were armed with a combat knife similar to the one used by Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo" character in the '80's film, "First Blood."

The man who fatally shot 6 of his Walmart co-workers was so angry at some of them he reportedly kept shooting them after they were already dead.

Walmart manager Andre Bing went on his Tuesday night killing rampage inside the Chesapeake, Virginia, department store ... but, for some reason he spared the life of one of his colleagues, Jessica Wilczewski.

Wilczewski gave an interview to the Associated Press, explaining she was in the employee break room when Bing entered with his semi-automatic handgun.

She said, "The way he was acting -- he was going hunting. The way he was looking at people’s faces and the way he did what he did, he was picking people out."

Wilczewski watched in horror as Bing committed overkill. "What I do know is that he made sure who he wanted dead, was dead," she said. "He went back and shot dead bodies that were already dead."

Wilczewski, who had only been working at the store for five days, said she crouched under a table to take cover when the gunfire erupted. At some point, Bing walked over to her and said, "Jessie, go home."

She then dashed out of the store before Bing killed himself with his own pistol. She later speculated Bing had spared her life because she was a new employee.

The Walmart manager who fatally shot six people inside the Virginia department store kept a manifesto on his phone -- complaining about his job and other coworkers.

Andre Bing reportedly wrote in his manifesto that he was upset about a recent, unspecified change in his employment status. He also claimed he was being harassed about the change by his fellow employees ... according to NBC News affiliate WAVY.

The report, which cites a law enforcement source, stated cops found the manifesto in Bing's phone after he killed himself following Tuesday's massacre. First responders also discovered an apparent "hit list" near Bing's body with the names of employees the killer presumably wanted to eradicate.

One of Bing's colleagues told WAVY she believes he planned the shooting, claiming he had issues with other workers.

Other colleagues told CNN Bing allegedly said he would retaliate and be remembered if he ever got fired. They described Bing as "condescending" and "quite mean" to other employees. They also said Bing was paranoid the government was watching him.

As we reported ... Bing was armed with a pistol when he entered the employee break room of the Walmart in Chesapeake, VA. He opened fire at the other workers before turning the gun on himself.