Crime & Arrests

Two heroic teachers are fighting for their lives after being stabbed while trying to save kids at a Taylor Swift-themed party over in the UK.

Leanne Lucas sprang into action, getting kids to safety through a fire escape ... while her colleague Heidi Barlow locked others in a bathroom stall to protect them from the knife-wielding maniac who went on a rampage at the yoga and dance event in Southport Monday.

Both women are now critical condition -- with Leanne's aunt, Pauline Bennett, saying she's waiting to undergo surgery. She added all Leanne wanted to do was protect the kids, but given her small frame ... she didn't stand a chance against the knifeman.

New footage shows a UK man pacing in front of a house 20 minutes before Monday's horrific knife attack at a Taylor Swift themed dance class -- a house that was raided by cops after the massacre.

Check out the video obtained by ITV -- a young man in a green hoodie is seen pacing back and forth in the front of a home.

The attack left 3 children dead, 5 other kids in critical condition. Two adults are also in critical condition.

12:03 PM PT -- R. Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to discuss her client's SCOTUS filing in more depth -- and she made a pretty compelling argument.

One other interesting thing ... Bonjean says she actually thinks this current version of the Supreme Court is perfect to hear R. Kelly's case -- and it sounds like believes they'd actually side with him if they were to take it up on their docket ... politics be damned!!!

R. Kelly is asking the United States Supreme Court to throw out his convictions for possession of child porn and inducing minors to have sex – claiming his alleged acts occurred decades ago and the charges were therefore barred by the statute of limitations.

Here's the deal ... when R. Kelly was accused in 2020 of possessing child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls way back in the mid to late-1990s, he argued the statute of limitations had already run its course.

But, prosecutors argued a 2003 law – called the PROTECT Act – made the statute of limitations indefinite for child sex crimes.

Tampa police feel like they're on the right track to solving rapper Julio Foolio's murder ... 3 people were arrested in connection with the deadly shooting and cops say they're closing in on 2 more!!!

On Monday, Tampa PD held a press conference announcing the arrests of and first-degree murder charges for Isaiah Chance, Alicia Andrews and Sean Gathright. The suspects were all nabbed in Jacksonville.

Cops also released new footage of the June 23 deadly shooting ... and it shows multiple masked gunmen zipping around the Tampa Holiday Inn parking lot, taking position in bushes and firing dozens of rounds into the vehicle carrying Julio.

1:47 PM PT -- Prince William and Kate Middleton just weighed in on the tragedy -- writing in part, "As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through."

They went on to extend their condolences, while thanking first-responders who arrived on the scene.

12:28 PM PT -- Officials have now confirmed even more tragic news from this horrific incident -- namely, the fact that a second child has now died.

In addition to this ... cops have identified the alleged perpetrator as a 17-year-old male. His name has yet to be released -- and it's unclear if the authorities plan to do that.

A Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the UK turned into something straight out of a horror movie ... when a mass stabbing left a young girl dead and 7 others injured.

Justin Timberlake might have an ace in the hole to get his DWI case dismissed ... and it's a woman who took the keys to his car after his arrest ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, Justin was busted for drunk driving last month, after partying with friends at a Sag Harbor hotel. Cops say they saw him blow a stop sign and swerve as he was following some friends.

After he was stopped, cops say he failed multiple sobriety field tests and also smelled of alcohol. He refused to blow into a Breathalyzer, and claimed he only drank one martini.

Dutch volleyball star Steven van de Velde, a convicted child rapist, is slated to compete in the Paris Olympics this week ... and the IOC is now facing serious pressure to investigate how he was able to be included in the Games despite his disgraced past.

Van de Velde allegedly raped a 12-year-old back in 2014 -- when he was 19. Authorities claimed he initially met the girl online -- and then flew from Amsterdam to London a short time later to have sexual relations with her -- this despite him being aware of her age. In 2016, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison.

However, after serving 12 months behind bars in Britain, he was transferred to the Netherlands, where he was resentenced. Roughly a month later, he was released. Following his time served, he told a local media outlet he was not a pedophile.

Winston Nguyen, a NYC math teacher-turned-"Jeopardy!" champ, has surrendered himself to authorities over child porn charges ... according to multiple reports.

The educator -- who worked at the swanky Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights -- turned himself over to Brooklyn prosecutors on Thursday ... a month after he was accused of catfishing minors and sharing X-rated images with them through social media.

Now, he is facing child porn charges and is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Thursday afternoon .... where he'll be charged with using a child in a sexual performance and for promoting a sexual performance by a child.

An arrest has been made in the fatal stabbing of a woman in San Dimas, CA, which saw another woman strolling down a residential street with a Samurai sword and gashes on her leg.

Weichien Huang was booked on suspicion of murdering her wife Chen Chen Fei on July 18 ... according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept, which says Huang attacked Fei with a Samurai sword during a domestic dispute at their San Dimas-area home.

Huang also allegedly attacked Fei’s mom ... who managed to snatch the sword away from Huang and flee into the street to get help.

2:28 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Diddy was never a suspect in the Tupac murder investigation, and that remains true today. In other words ... it's clear cops weren't buying what Keefe D was selling about Puff, and didn't deem his claim as credible.

The guy charged with Tupac's murder should not be released on bail, because he once alleged Diddy offered him 7 figures to kill 'Pac -- at least that's the case prosecutors are making to the judge.

Here's the deal ... Duane "Keefe D" Davis has been behind bars in Nevada since his arrest for the Tupac slaying, but he's asking the judge to let him out pending trial.

The fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey has saddened Solange Knowles like many Americans -- and she's making a nuanced point about this being a regular thing in the U.S.

After taking in the brutal body cam footage that was released this week -- Solange called out America for its historic treatment of Black women ... scoffing at the responding officer's disbelief Sonya had asked not to be hurt right from the get-go when they arrived.

Sonya's plea still resulted in her dead on her kitchen floor with a bullet in her head, and Solange says words don't hold the same weight for Black women as they do everyone else.

LSU defensive back Javien Toviano, who played in 13 games for the Tigers last season, was arrested over the weekend ... after cops say he admitted to filming himself having sex with a woman without her consent.

According to police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, the 19-year-old fessed up to secretly placing a camera inside of a bedroom clock to record multiple sexual encounters with a woman earlier this month.

Police wrote in the documents that the alleged victim told officers she found the videos -- which were apparently recorded on July 5 and July 6 -- on an iPad belonging to Toviano.

Captain Paul Watson -- an environmental activist and star of the show "Whale Wars" -- has been arrested in Greenland ... and video published to his foundation's X account captures the shocking moment.

His foundation -- the Captain Paul Watson Foundation -- posted video explaining when they landed in Nuuk, Greenland to refuel for their voyage to the Northwest Passage to stop the Japanese whaling ship the Kangei Maru.

However, the foundation says as soon as ship docked, Danish federal police boarded and arrested Watson.

A woman accused of shooting a 7-month-old infant on the streets of Philadelphia has been arrested ... and TMZ has obtained her mug shot.

Dominique Billips -- the 28-year-old accused of the crime -- has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault, violation of the Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA), and related offenses according to a press release from Philly PD.

PPD says they arrested Billips Friday -- the day after the caught-on-camera shooting -- apprehending her without incident.

Blueface could be released from jail very soon -- and his mother Karlissa Saffold hopes to spoil him rotten with a surprise party to make it official!!!

Karlissa chopped it up with TMZ Hip Hop in Burbank on Thursday and she told us she's eyeing Blue's upcoming July 29 court hearing, which could be the last barrier to his freedom.

The L.A. rap star's been locked up since January on a probation violation and Karlissa is confident she'll be able to follow through with her party plans the very next day.

Sean Kingston and his mother are now facing federal charges after being accused of defrauding businesses out of more than $1 million.

Federal prosecutors say a Grand Jury in Miami indicted the "Beautiful Girls" singer and his mom, Janice Turner, hitting each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and 5 counts of wire fraud.

The charges, announced Friday, are for allegations Sean and his mom cooked up a scheme to swindle multiple businesses out of jewelry, luxury vehicles and other goods.