Weapons & Guns

The Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting might've been a whole lot worse had officers not responded so quickly and bravely -- according to one musician who was there as it all went down.

Tommy Huxley played Sunday at the festival with his band, Tommy Huxley's Blues Avenue, and when the first shots were fired, they were breaking down their equipment. Huxley tells us Gilroy cops were on the scene seconds later and searching for the shooter.

He gives a recap of how the terrifying incident unfolded, saying at first ... he thought he was hearing fireworks, but soon realized what was happening as people scrambled.

It sounds like a complete 180 from the good vibes being shared right before all this -- you can see Tommy and his band jamming out and people having a great time.

The moment people started running from nearby stages was also captured when the shooting first started, and it gives you a sense of just how scary it was. Another band was in the middle of performing when shots were heard, and people ran for their lives.

As you know, 3 people were killed and 12 others injured.

Listen to how Huxley describes Gilroy PD's response though -- sounds like 4 officers were frantically trying to get to the gunman and end the threat, which they ultimately did. The suspected  19-year-old shooter was shot dead in a standoff with police.

Authorities say the shooter used an AK-47-style rifle, which he purchased legally in Nevada earlier this month. Witnesses have said he was wearing fatigues, and that he was shooting at random. Two children -- aged 6 and 13 -- were among the fatalities.

WORST. AUDITION. EVER!!!

A pro stuntman claims he was SHOT IN THE BACK with live ammunition from a semi-automatic assault rifle while auditioning for a role in a TV show ... and shocker, he's pissed!!!

The man behind the lawsuit is Alex Schoenauer -- a former MMA fighter who famously appeared on Season 1 of UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter" ... where he fought (and lost to) Forrest Griffin.

Schoenauer is a stuntman now ... but things went horribly awry for him during a Sept. 2018 audition for JMP Productions, which makes action shows like "SEAL Team" and "S.W.A.T."

According to the suit, Schoenauer's audition called for him to burst through a door with a stuntwoman at the Oak Tree Gun Club in SoCal while both carrying semi-automatic assault rifles.

Problem is ...  Schoenauer claims the guns were loaded with LIVE AMMO -- and when the stuntwoman fired her gun, he was blasted through the upper back!!!

Schoenauer says the bullet exited through his upper arm/shoulder -- though he does not say in the lawsuit if the injuries he sustained were life-threatening.

The part of the lawsuit we just don't understand ...  Schoenauer claims the man responsible for coordinating the stunt specifically arranged for the guns to be loaded with real ammunition.

Now, Schoenauer is suing everyone from JMP to the stunt coordinator ... and even the woman who shot him in the back for unspecified damages.

We reached out to JMP Productions for comment -- so far, no word back.

Schoenauer's MMA career never really took off after "The Ultimate Fighter" ... but he's found success in the stunt world (besides being shot) ... with gigs on big movies like "Fast Five," "End of Watch" and "Transformers."

Teresa Giudice is lucky -- she was at the Gilroy Garlic Festival the day before a gunman opened fire ... killing 3 people and injuring at least 15 others.

"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star says she's heartbroken over yet another mass shooting in the U.S. ... this one at a food fest in Northern California.

Giudice was at the event on Saturday to promote her cookbook and participate in the Garlic Cook-Off. She was photographed with some of the finalists of the Miss Gilroy Garlic Festival 2019 contest, as well.

On Sunday, around 5:30 PM, a gunman wearing tactical gear opened fire on the crowd with an assault rifle.

Among the 3 deceased include a 6-year-old boy named Stephen Romero, who was there with his grandparents, who were also injured in the attack.

The gunman -- who's been identified as 19-year-old Santino William Legan -- was shot and killed by police ... reportedly just a minute after he began firing "somewhat randomly" at the crowd. Cops are still looking for a possible accomplice.

Rapper Blueface says the LAPD is full of crap and they lied when they said they swarmed a bunch rappers out of concern for them ... he says it could be racial prejudice.

The man behind the "Bust Down" dance craze was arrested back in February after cops say he was illegally carrying loaded guns in downtown L.A. Cops claimed they had heard there were a bunch of rappers in the area who were carrying large amounts of cash and wearing lots of jewelry.

The LAPD said they went there to actually protect the rappers since there were a bunch of robberies in the area and they feared the rappers would be easy targets. When they arrived, they say Blueface and his crew scattered and tossed their guns.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Blueface calls BS, saying he and his legal team believe the officers who made the arrest may have complaints against them for racial or ethnic prejudice. They also claim the cops may have a history of writing false police reports.

Lawyers for Blueface say the rapper wasn't in possession of guns, and the reason he was singled out is because one of the cops thought he had a nervous look on his face after police heard the clang of guns hitting the concrete. They concede cops say they saw him make "furtive movement toward his waistband."

The Thousand Oaks bar where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage hosted its first public gathering at the site of the tragedy, with hundreds of people showing up Sunday night for a ceremonial tree lighting ... a tribute to the victims.

The Borderline Bar & Grill parking lot was buzzing with activity for the first time since the November mass shooting ... with the community coming together to listen to country music, line dance and remember those they lost by illuminating an oak tree that served as a symbol of healing in the shooting's aftermath.

Borderline Bar owner Brian Hynes says the oak tree -- located on the edge of the bar parking lot -- will remain lit every night to represent the 12 people who were killed. People gathered at the tree in the days after the shooting, sharing hugs, shedding tears and lending each other support.

Following the ceremonial tree lighting, the crowd stuck around and everyone sang Garth Brooks' country classic, "Friends in Low Places."

You may recall ... the massacre occurred last November during the bar's popular College Country Night, when a retired Marine stormed the venue and killed 12 people before police shot and killed him.

Slim 400 thought he was a goner as a hail of bullets rained down on him during a drive-by shooting in Compton ... but he miraculously survived, and now he says he can't be stopped!!!

Slim joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and gave us the lowdown on last month's ambush, which sent him to the ICU and into surgery 4 times after he was shot NINE TIMES by masked gunmen.

The "Bruisin" rapper admits he thought he was toast when the shots were popping off ... and he details the shooting, telling us why he was able to make it out of there alive.

It's pretty impressive ... Slim is walking around on his own less than 3 weeks after being shot, and the only noticeable injury is a loss of hearing in one ear, which he hopes will restore in time.

Slim explains why he taunted his shooters -- who are still on the streets -- and tells us what minor changes he's making after his brush with death. Sounds like he's heeding YG's advice to "stay dangerous."

The L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is raiding a Hollywood Hills home in connection to a shooting involving an SUV registered to YG, which left one deputy shot and an innocent bystander dead.

Sheriff's sources say the house is leased by YG ... but he was not detained or arrested and was not present on the property during the raid. Deputies got a judge to sign a search warrant in connection with the incident involving a wild police chase earlier this month.

As TMZ reported, someone inside an SUV registered to YG fired shots from inside the vehicle, striking a deputy. A pedestrian was killed during the crossfire between deputies and the shooter. The incident occurred on July 3 in Compton.

Four men have been handcuffed at the scene and have been placed in patrol cars while deputies continue their search inside the house.

YG denied he was there at the time of the shooting, saying, "I was nowhere near the scene of this incident and had been in a recording studio all day in Hollywood. I was there until after midnight on the 4th of July and didn't learn of these events until after they happened."

Ex-NFL QB Anthony Wright is lucky to be alive today ... a witness to his shooting last week says the former Baltimore Raven was "fading" quickly after he was shot in the back and chest.

It's all in new 911 audio obtained by TMZ Sports ... where a man says he saw Wright get shot "by a guy with a silver 9 millimeter" after an argument in North Carolina on July 1.

"He's breathing, but he's fading," the witness tells dispatch ... "He got shot right in the chest and in the back. Two shots."

Cops say the dispute that started the incident involved a custody situation with Wright's girlfriend's ex ... and led to the 43-year-old needing emergency surgery.

But, police said Wright was in stable condition after the operation ... and it's great news, considering the grim scene the witness painted to dispatch.

"He walked up to him and pointed the gun right at him then and ran off."

Police say they were able to arrest the alleged shooter, William "Willie" Moses Hooker Jr., a few days after the altercation ... and eventually hit him with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill charges.

Hooker is currently in a North Carolina jail under $1 MILLION bond.

Wright was a stud backup for years in the NFL ... playing for the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants.

Pablo Escobar's brother says Elon Musk ripped off the "not-a-flamethrower" idea and beat him to the punch -- but now he's got his own (hot) take on the gizmo ... and a possible legal fireball for Elon.  

The Colombian kingpin's bro, Roberto, just launched his own flamethrower -- which is basically a glorified propane torch -- and it is eerily similar to Elon's product from early 2018. There's a reason for that, according to Escobar's camp ... he claims Elon and co. jacked the idea after one of his engineers paid a visit to the family compound in mid-2017.

We're told while Elon's guy was out in Medellin that summer, he and Robeto allegedly got to talkin' about a toy flamethrower that could "burn money." Burning cash -- literally -- is apparently a favorite pastime of the Escobars ... ya know, 'cause of how rich they were from all drug smuggling and whatnot in Pablo's heyday. Torching dinero ... the new wealth brag.

Anyway, Roberto's camp claims nothing ever came of that convo -- until, suddenly, in January of 2018 ... Elon announced his 'The Boring Company Not a Flamethrower,' which raked in millions in the first few days on digital shelves. We're told the Escobars were pissed.

Now, they've got their own version out in the marketplace -- which retails for $500 -- but more importantly, our Escobar sources say Roberto and la familia are weighing their options on potential legal action against Musk and TBC for alleged intellectual property theft.

Might be an uphill battle for the fellas down in Colombia -- it's likely Elon got his own flamethrower patented from the jump ... so proving anything they're claiming could be difficult in court, if not impossible.

But hey, crazier things have happened ... like a Colombian drug lord running the international narcotics game for over two decades, or a fart app. Light it up, Escobars. 

Oh, and we've reached out to The Boring Company for comment ... so far, no word back.

Slim 400 owes his life to the hospital staff who are treating him after getting shot 9 times -- and while he's got a delicious way to pay them back ... he's also poking fun at whoever fired on him.

The rapper just posted the first shot of himself since he was gunned down in Compton a couple weeks ago. The hospital bed shot shows he's still in bad shape after the attack, but his sense of humor's clearly intact.

As Slim put it, "I wanna thank the staff at the hospital for helpin me shake back" and says he owes them grub from Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles or Taco Mell Catering for life.

Slim also has a message for his shooters ... "God I thank whoeva was poppin 4 buyn them shells at walmart I’m here 4 a reason Hol’Upppp." Translation -- your cheap ass bullets couldn't kill me.

We broke the story ... 400 got out of ICU earlier this week and he's now in stable condition, but he has a long road of recuperation ahead of him. Our sources say he's expected to remain in the hospital for quite some time.

Considering Slim's undergone 4 surgeries since being rushed to the hospital with 9 gunshot wounds to multiple areas of his body, it's amazing he's in as good of shape as he is ... and seemingly in good spirits.

So far, no suspects have been identified in the ambush shooting. As we first told you, the gunmen hopped out of their drive-by vehicle in an attempt to kill Slim ... but fortunately he survived.

Offset will NOT be prosecuted by Georgia for gun possession -- the charges have been dropped, but they were only dropped so the feds could continue an even bigger investigation.

The Clayton County D.A.'s office tells TMZ ... prosecutors dismissed all charges on July 1 against the Migos rapper. However, according to docs, the D.A. decided to stand down at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. Turns out the feds are in the middle of an investigation ... and that's the only reason Offset was pulled over in the first place.

In docs, county prosecutors say the feds were concerned if they took Offset to trial for gun possession they'd have to tip their hand about information related to a larger investigation. Prosecutors aren't disclosing what that investigation is about, but say pursuing Offset's case "would alert other potential future parties to the investigation and evidence that may support federal charges against said parties."

TMZ broke the story ... Offset was slapped with a felony gun possession charge back in April. It had been the latest fallout stemming from his arrest last summer in Atlanta. He was also facing 2 separate charges -- possession of weed and making an illegal lane change, both misdemeanors.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors say ATF agents contacted officers in Clayton County, asking them to pull over Offset's vehicle, if there was probable cause, and identify all passengers.

Prosecutors say the probable cause was failing to maintain his lane and tinted windows. ATF merely wanted to know who was in the vehicle -- but when Clayton Co. officers smelled weed, they decided to search the car ... leading to Offset's arrest for gun possession.  

As we told you first ... Offset's lawyer said he believes the rapper was targeted because he's rich, successful and black. Based on these new docs, though, Offset might have an even bigger problem ... with the federal government.

Anwan Glover -- who starred in the "The Wire" and "12 Years a Slave" -- has been sitting in a jail cell for over a week now after getting busted on firearm charges.

The veteran TV and movie actor was arrested in Washington D.C. on June 26 and booked for unlawful possession of a firearm -- a misdemeanor -- after cops say they searched his car during a traffic stop and discovered an unregistered handgun in Glover's Jeep. 

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, police were notified to be on the lookout for a white Jeep with a driver who was allegedly brandishing a gun out the window. Cops say they pulled over Glover because his ride matched the description and was making multiple lane changes without signaling.

Officers say they asked Glover if he had any weapons, and he said no. He also said no when they asked if they could search the vehicle but cops did it anyway, claiming probable cause.

The officers say they found a loaded Smith & Wesson MP Shield 9mm tucked between the Jeep's roll bar and roof cover, and then immediately placed Anwan under arrest. 

His lawyers filed a motion to have him released on bail ASAP so he could continue working and supporting his family. They say he denied any knowledge of the gun in the vehicle, and also argued cops had no business targeting him in the first place.

While cops say Glover's Jeep matched the description they were given, his attorneys say that's BS, and his Jeep is totally different. 

Slim 400 is finally out of intensive care after being shot up in Compton, but he's not out of the woods yet. 

Sources connected to the rapper tell TMZ that Slim was recently taken out of the ICU at the hospital he's being treated at, and that he's now in stable condition. That said, we're told Slim still has a long road of recuperating ahead of him. 

Our sources say he's expected to remain in the hospital for a good long while, despite initial expectations that he'd be making a full recovery in the coming weeks.

Considering he's undergone 4 surgeries since being rushed to the hospital -- after being shot 9 times in multiples areas of his body -- it's no wonder he'll be bedside for the foreseeable future.

We're told YG has come by to visit since touching down in L.A. last week -- when he told us he and his crew would respond to the shooting by staying "dangerous." Other folks have come to see him as well. 

Ex-UCLA basketball star Tyler Honeycutt's suicide after a standoff with police officers last year caused nearly $200k in property damage ... so says an insurance company that is now suing Honeycutt's estate for the cash.

As we previously reported, cops were called to a place Honeycutt was renting in Sherman Oaks, Calif. back on July 6, 2018 to respond to a call about a man with a gun in the residence.

When they arrived, Tyler -- who had played for the Sacramento Kings from 2011 to 2013 -- fired shots at the officers ... and an hours-long standoff ensued.

Eventually, SWAT was able to break into the home -- but they found Honeycutt on the scene unresponsive.

Officials later declared Honeycutt dead ... and said he appeared to have shot himself at some point during the altercation.

Now, Amco Insurance Company is going after Tyler's estate for the incident, saying all the damages caused during the standoff totaled up to $178,476.56.

The insurance company claims in the lawsuit Tyler's actions created "severe" damage to the property, contents, fixtures and furnishings ... and now they want his estate to pay up.

YG says he had absolutely nothing to do with a high-speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles involving an SUV registered in his name ... an incident that started with a deadly police shootout.

The Compton rapper tells TMZ ... "I was nowhere near the scene of this incident and had been in a recording studio all day in Hollywood. I was there until after midnight on the Fourth of July and didn't learn of these events until after they happened."

Our sources say YG is the registered owner of the black Cadillac Escalade that was involved in Wednesday night's pursuit, which began with a deputy-involved shooting in Compton. The SUV had aftermarket bulletproof glass and armor. We're told the Escalade is a company car, and YG did not know the car was being used at the time.

Police say they were initially called to apprehend a reckless DUI suspect, but detectives then responded to a deputy-involved shooting after an innocent bystander was caught in the crossfire and shot dead at the scene.

Following the deadly shootout, a high-speed chase ensued and the pursuit finally came to an end in Inglewood. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says more shots were fired during the chase, with suspects shooting at deputies and a Sheriff's helicopter, which was not struck by bullets. 

Police say one deputy was shot during the pursuit and suffered minor injuries from a gunshot wound, and he was treated and released. According to multiple reports, a patrol car's windshield was peppered with bullets. 

At least one person was detained, and another suspect remains outstanding.

The shooting of Nipsey Hussle caused chaos and confusion in the moments immediately afterward, and proof of the terror can be heard in the voice of the woman who called for help.

According to the 911 call -- obtained by TMZ -- a woman pleaded for an ambulance to arrive as quickly as possible, saying somebody is on the ground.

The dispatcher's unable to get many details, as the lady makes it clear it's an emergency and just keeps repeating they need to hurry.

As you know ... the rapper was shot and killed outside of his Marathon clothing store in Crenshaw on March 31, allegedly after a heated conversion with Eric Holder about snitching.

Hussle died from gunshot wounds to his head and torso, according to the L.A. County Medical Coroner. Holder has been arrested for his murder, but the getaway driver -- a woman who was with Holder at the time -- has not been charged ... and she's been offered police protection as she claims to be fearful for her life.

As we've reported ... Nipsey's death rocked the hip-hop world, and his memorial service at Staples Center in L.A. drew thousands. Many of his fellow rappers have since paid homage to their friend and he was honored at the recent BET Awards.