Weapons & Guns

Dr. Walter Palmer has been the target of so many threats since news broke that he killed Cecil ... he needs police protection.

Law enforcement in Eden Prairie, MN tell us ... even though Dr. Palmer hasn't requested it, they will be doing regular checks on his home and neighborhood. The alert level is high enough that police supervisors will be involved in the drive-bys.

It's reached a fever pitch, with PETA calling for a hanging.

NBA legend/vegan crusader John Salley is joining the chorus of celebs who are incredulous over the death of Cecil the lion ... but he raises an issue we haven't heard up to now ... how did a dentist blow $55k to pay hunters to kill the lion?

Salley went on TMZ Live to describe his outrage ...then wondered aloud how much this dentist charges for novocaine.

Cecil the Lion did not die in vain ... his remains will be used for an anti-poaching memorial in Zimbabwe ... TMZ has learned.

Johnny Rodrigues from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force tells us the headless corpse of Cecil is still out in the sun ... so vultures and other carnivores can eat the flesh in circle of life fashion.

We're told after the meat is gone ... Cecil's bones will be used to create an anti-poaching memorial in the Hwange National Park, to educate people on the beauty of the beast and the harm that comes from killing them.

Johnny says the plan is for Cecil's head and skin ... which have been confiscated for the criminal investigation ... to become part of the memorial.

A screening of Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck" came to a horrifying end after a man opened fire on a theater full of moviegoers ... killing two and wounding nine others, before turning the gun on himself.

Officials in Lafayette, LA say a lone 58-year-old gunman stood up in The Grand Theatre 16 about 20 minutes into the movie ... and began shooting at the audience with a handgun.

According to law enforcement ... after the gunman, John Russel Houser, shot into the crowd, and attempted to flee the theater. He killed himself once he saw officers racing to the scene.

Police haven't determined what, if any, motive Houser had for the shooting.

Schumer sent out a message addressing the tragedy, saying, "My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana."

6:00 PM PT -- Future's concert is back on, but now it's at the House of Blues ... and only for the first 800 people.

3:55 PM PT -- Future's concert has now been cancelled.

Future is throwing a free concert at the Roxy in LA tonight and it's not off to a smooth start because the cops just showed up ... in riot gear.

We’re told fans started lining at 9 AM, and the show doesn’t start till midnight. The trouble started around 1 PM, when wristbands were passed out for the 500 capacity room ... everyone went wild.

Cops got out their riot guns when people started pouring onto Sunset Blvd ... smack in the middle of the Strip.

10:40 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Ruby was not the one who called police and it didn't happen at her home. We're told a man was trying to break into her neighbor's house and was arrested.

Ruby Rose got a terrifying taste of L.A. -- she spotted an armed man in her backyard as police swarmed her house ... searching for the man.

Ruby shot video of the panic -- cop cars on the street and helicopters above her house. She narrated the clip, saying ... "Policemen ... looking for a f**king gunman."

She also live tweeted the incident throughout the search ... "This is petrifying. Helicopters, police, dogs ... and a crazy person"

Ruby says the gunman was eventually arrested ... and she deleted all her tweets about the incident.

It's unclear if the suspect was trying to get into her house ... or just running through the neighborhood. Either way ... scary night for the "Orange is the New Black" star.

Dallas Mavericks point guard Raymond Felton knocked off 500 hours of community service to put an end to his odd gun case that seemed to start with a bitter divorce.

Felton pled guilty last year to a felony gun charge after his estranged wife turned in his gun to NYPD. The semi-automatic weapon had an illegal 20-round extended magazine, so ... he was screwed.

Felton's lawyer went into a Manhattan court Wednesday morning to show proof the ex-Knick completed his community service hours, and also paid a $5,000 fine.

Benzino dodged a year in prison for bringing his loaded gun to the airport -- and instead the judge is forcing him to go to school ... the easiest school ever, we're guessing.

The former “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” star pled no contest to putting his loaded 9mm through a TSA checkpoint in Atlanta. He says he took the wrong laptop bag.

Benzino was sentenced to one year of probation, a $500 fine, 700 hours community service, and a crash course in gun safety ... which he has 60 days to complete.

Sure, it'll take a while to tick off the 700 hours, but the gun safety class? Just remember this, Benzino ... DON'T TAKE LOADED GUNS TO THE AIRPORT -- and you should pass.

Rico Richie -- whose song "Poppin" is blowing up -- got busted by cops who weren't even looking for him ... they were investigating Young Thug and the Lil Wayne tour bus shooting.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper got busted in Atlanta on Wednesday for selling weed, and possession of firearms. According to Richie's reps, the arrest went down in a recording studio ... which happens to be the same studio where Young Thug shot his "Halftime" music video.

As we've reported ... that music video is part of the indictment against the guy cops say shot up Wayne's bus.

Richie's peeps say the cops were investigating Thug, but instead found Richie with marijuana and 2 guns. Richie's camp claim the drugs and guns weren't his, but since he didn't want to snitch ... he "accepted responsibility."

Positive spin: Richie's an up and comer, and the Young Thug/Lil Wayne related arrest could give him street cred.

Reality: He has previous felonies, so he could be facing hard time in prison.

Funny case of wrong place, wrong time ... unless you're Richie.

Birdman and Young Thug are connected to a plot to kill Lil Wayne ... which went down the night Wayne's tour bus got shot up in Atlanta ... according to cops.

The explosive allegation comes in the indictment for Jimmy Carlton Winfrey -- the guy busted for firing at Wayne's bus back in April. According to the docs, moments after Winfrey shot up the bus in Atlanta ... he called a phone owned by Birdman.

Adding further suspicion -- after that call, Winfrey drove to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel ... where Wayne's entourage stopped after the shooting. Cops don't say it in the indictment, but the insinuation is Winfrey was told to go finish the job ... but as we reported, police had met Wayne's entourage at the hotel to investigate the shooting.

TMZ broke the story ... Winfrey has been Young Thug's tour manager. Cops also point out that Winfrey is seen brandishing an assault rifle in Thug's "Halftime" music video ... which includes lyrics threatening to shoot Wayne in the head.

Birdman and Thug have not been charged with any crime -- but the indictment makes it clear cops think they're closely tied to the shooter.

Justin Martin -- who appeared alongside Zac Efron in "High School Musical 3" -- was arrested Tuesday night ... after allegedly getting into a gun fight with police.

According to Boston PD ... officers on patrol heard gunfire, and when they arrived on scene .. they say Martin and another man were armed and running away. The cops started chasing, and Boston PD says Martin turned and pointed his gun without firing, but his cohort did open fire.

Officers fired back, and did not hit Martin ... but they managed to chase him down, and while arresting him, recovered a .22 caliber pistol.

A second armed male suspect was also busted when he approached cops and Martin.

Martin was booked for unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm -- and 2 counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon.

Martin's mother tells us she will try to bail him out after his court appearance Wednesday morning.

12:15 PM PT -- Martin pled not guilty to all counts. Bail was set at $35,000.

Plies nearly got sprayed with a real shotgun on his music video set -- but lucky for him, a 911 operator convinced an armed passerby to let cops handle what he wrongly thought was a hostage situation.

We got the 911 call made by the guy who mistook Plies' rap music video shoot for an armed standoff between a "white boy" and a bunch of black guys "with dreadlocks" and guns.

You gotta hear the terrified caller yelling, "They gonna shoot this white boy!" ... right before offering to intervene with his own loaded shotgun!

Rick Ross finally has his day in court ... after sitting in a Georgia jail for 7 days.

Ross -- who's visibly tired -- didn't have the option of bailing out ... the judge has treated this as a no-bail case because the rapper faces kidnapping and aggravated assault charges over an altercation he had with a groundskeeper at his estate.

It appears Ross' lawyer is there to argue his client should be released on bail.

The alleged victim claims Ross pistol-whipped him, injuring his jaw and neck and chipping two teeth, and that the injuries were so bad, he's been forced to eat through a straw.

The judge hasn't ruled yet.

Plies and one of his friends took a white guy hostage ... at least that's what was reported to Florida cops, but it wasn't what it seemed.

Cops were called to the St. Cloud home of Mike Busey (Gary's nephew, aka the white guy) after a passerby saw what he thought was a hostage situation. Someone called 911, saying 2 black males with assault rifles were holding a white male hostage.

Deputies rolled up with sirens blazing, then discovered the guns were unloaded and the only thing the guys were shooting was a music video.

The scene had Plies picking up guns from Haitian gangsters with assault rifles.

Check out the video ... the crew gets a stern talkin'-to by the cops.

Tyga pissed off a Swiss club owner so much, the guy chased him outside and started a fist fight with the rapper and his entourage ... and Kylie Jenner had a front row seat.

Tyga was scheduled to play a show at Envogue Genève, a club in Geneva, Switzerland. According to our sources, Tyga was supposed to play for an hour ... but he showed up super late and only performed for about 10 minutes.

Tyga left the club around 4 AM and got in his car with Kylie. The enraged owner was hot on Tyga's heels, running out of the club, yelling for Tyga ... a fight then broke out.

At that point Tyga got out of the car to join in the fracas, but an eyewitness says someone in the owner's posse flashed a gun. That was apparently enough for Tyga to make a hasty retreat, leaving his bodyguards behind.

9:20 AM PT -- Ross was DENIED bail and will remain behind bars until his next court hearing, which is on July 1.

Rick Ross took a Glock 9MM pistol and then viciously pistol-whipped one of his workers so badly, he messed up his jaw and neck ... so claim the cops who arrested him.

As TMZ reported, Ross was arrested early Wednesday morning for kidnapping and aggravated assault. Now we know the details.

Ross got into an argument with his groundskeeper at the massive Georgia home he bought from Evander Holyfield, this according to legal docs. According to law enforcement, Ross forced the groundskeeper into the guesthouse bedroom at gunpoint and started grilling him.

Cops say when Ross didn't get the answers he wanted, he pistol-whipped the guy twice, messing up his jaw and neck and chipping 2 teeth. The groundskeeper was hurt badly enough that he couldn't use his jaw and is now on a liquid diet.