Weapons & Guns

Micah Xavier Johnson -- the 25-year-old law enforcement confirms as the Dallas shooter -- had involvement with a handful of pro-black and police watchdog groups.

Johnson's social media accounts reveal he was a member of several Black Panther organizations, including The New Black Panther Party Houston Chapter.

Johnson also subscribed to a Facebook group called "The Black Matrix," which aims to dismantle the system it believes "white societal elites" have put in place to "control the perceptions of its Black populations."

Johnson -- who served in the U.S. Army -- had involvement with Facebook communities including "Filming Cops" and "Police The Police," which describes itself as a platform for documenting and archiving police misconduct, brutality and abuse of authority.

Dallas PD Chief David Brown said before they took down Johnson he said he was angry about police brutality and wanted to kill white officers.

TMZ obtained this video of at least 9 Dallas cops taking what appears to be a possible person of interest into custody immediately after Thursday's mass shooting ... and despite crushing pressure and emotion, they keep their cool.

The man in question clearly captured the attention of police because he's wearing a bulletproof vest. We don't know if police kept the man in custody or if he had any connection to Thursday's shootings.

The scene was almost shockingly calm considering what had unfolded only moments before, but there's still tension ... you hear bystanders crying out "Do what they say!!" as the man cautiously approaches.

Jada Pinkett Smith seems to think the violence in Dallas was virtually inevitable, saying, "Desperate communities do desperate things."

A photog got Jada at LAX Thursday, and asked about the recent police involved shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Her reaction was poignant. It's important to note this video was shot before the Dallas news broke in L.A.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown just confirmed the obvious ... one of the shooters was gunning to kill white people, and especially cops.

The Chief said the killer was angry over the 2 recent shootings and also upset with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The end of his comments is heart-wrenching, talking about the lack of support police feel everyday.

Syndicated radio talk show host Joe Walsh declared war on President Obama after the Dallas cop killings, saying, "This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you."

The former congressman went wild on Twitter last night, deleting the comment after a torrent of criticism over his remarks.

Walsh also called Obama a "cop hater" who was no different from "the thugs on the street."

Walsh was critical of the remarks Obama made Thursday night -- about racism in the criminal justice system -- claiming the comments may have triggered the sniper attack in Dallas.

He said, "Obama says cops are racist so 2 uneducated black thugs shoot 10 Dallas cops."

Like most people, celebrities are grieving over the Dallas murders.

Here's a sampling.

Beyonce stopped her concert in Scotland for a moment of silence in honor of the most recent alleged victims of police brutality ... before launching into her song, "Freedom."

She told the crowd in Glasgow, "Please join me in a moment of silence to acknowledge the lives of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile." The screen behind her had the names of dozens of other victims.

Dallas police have several suspects in custody, and are searching for more in the ambush-style shootings of 12 officers ... 5 of whom were killed during a protest.

The attack happened in the middle of a peaceful protest against the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile -- and police believe the shots came from snipers in elevated positions. Gunshots echoed through downtown Dallas for several minutes during the fierce battle.

Early Friday morning police said they had arrested 3 suspects and had at least one more cornered in a building. One of the suspects reportedly told police there were multiple bombs planted around the city.

Police say they did find one suspicious package which the bomb squad planned to detonate.

Police had released a photo of a man in a camouflage shirt who was walking through the protest with a rifle. Police initially called him a "person of interest," but he later turned himself in, and police now say he was not involved. Texas is an open carry state.

Story developing ...

Sharon Stone got super emotional over the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.

We got Sharon at LAX Thursday where she drew a line in the sand over how to protest the killings ...

Meek Mill and thousands of others fell for an Internet hoax and ended up ripping into a guy who is NOT one of the Baton Rouge cops who shot Alton Sterling.

Robert Kinnison says he's been receiving death threats after his image went viral following Sterling's death. Kinnison is a trucker from Arizona and Donald Trump supporter ... but says someone trolled him and it's not the first time.

He says someone online frequently posts a pic of him holding his gun after high-profile shooting incidents. This time the meme went viral, and Meek fell for it ... sharing the image on his IG page.

According to Baton Rouge PD, the cops involved in the Alton Sterling slaying are actually named Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II.

Kinnison's been trying to clear his name in videos he's posting online.

A woman trained a camera on her boyfriend as he succumbed to multiple wounds after being shot by a cop.

Philando Castile was driving with Lavish Reynolds in Falcon Heights, Minnesota Wednesday when his car was pulled over ... she says for a broken taillight.

The video starts just after the shooting, but according to Reynolds, the officer asked Castile for his license and registration. She says Castile told the cop he had a pistol on him that was registered, and when he reached for his wallet the officer warned him to stop. Reynolds says Castile actually put his hands back up, but the cop shot him 4 or 5 times.

Castile died after being taken to a local hospital.

The cop says on video, "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

MMA legend Bas Rutten's hands could kill you ... but that's not enough for him ... he had to go all Terminator at an L.A. gun range recently ... and TMZ Sports has video of him popping off some shots.

Suge Knight thinks Chris Brown's crappy security is the reason he got shot 7 times ... so now he's suing Brown.

According to the docs, Knight says Brown and 1 OAK Nightclub should have had better security in August 2014 when Suge was shot multiple times inside the club. He was hit in the abdomen, chest, and left forearm.

Suge, who's currently in jail awaiting trial for murder, calls out Brown in the suit ... for being a "known gang associate" with a history of hosting events where violent incidents happened.

He's also suing singer Pia Mia, who was co-hosting the party.

Knight claims since the shooting he's had major health complications ... including a blood clot.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan wouldn't know how to run Congress if his job came with an instruction manual ... according to Florida Congressman Alan Grayson.

Grayson -- a Democrat participating in the sit-in for a gun control vote -- threw major shade at Ryan just after the political protest was suspended until legislators return in July.

We asked him about Ryan saying the Dems were just pulling a "publicity stunt," and that's when he went off.

Keep in mind, Grayson's constituency includes Orlando ... so his passion on the topic makes sense.

Jesse Jackson is not just applauding the Democratic sit-in ... he firmly believes it's picking up where the Civil Rights Movement left off in the '60s.

The Rev was on Capitol Hill Thursday morning -- before the demonstration was suspended -- when he explained why he thinks the Dems can't back down on demanding at least a vote on gun control legislation ... no matter how much backlash they get for it.

John Legend says there's only one way to curb gun violence ... get rid of the Republicans.

Legend, Chrissy Teigen and the kid were leaving Wolfgang's in Bev Hills Wednesday when we asked about the congressional sit-in and stalemate.

You hear the frustration/anger in his voice.