Weapons & Guns

DaBaby claimed self-defense when he shot a man who randomly breached his North Carolina property -- and it looks like prosecutors agree with the rapper -- he won't be charged.

In legal docs obtained by TMZ, the Iredell County D.A. says it reviewed the case and has made the decision not to proceed with any charges.

TMZ broke the story back in April ... a man scaled DaBaby's estate walls and was eventually shot in the leg after exchanging words with the superstar rapper.

The eerie 911 call also showcased a cool, calm and collected DaBaby instructing cops of what had taken place ... with the man hollering in the background.

The Laugh Factory, one of the meccas of standup comedy in Los Angeles, is beefing up security ... and it's in response to the attack on Dave Chappelle and the Oscars slap.

Honchos at the famous comedy venue on Sunset Blvd. tell TMZ not only have they put up a sign in support of Dave, but they're also going to great lengths to protect comics after what happened during Dave's set Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl.

Remember ... an attacker jumped on stage and lunged at Dave, slamming him to the ground before running around the stage and eventually catching a beating. The guy had a replica gun with a real knife attachment.

We're told the new security plan at the Laugh Factory features more security guards both inside and outside the venue, including plainclothes guards in the crowd tasked with preventing anyone from rushing the stage.

Somehow, Dave's attacker got the gun/knife into the Hollywood Bowl and past metal detectors, and we're told the Laugh Factory is now using a metal detector at the front door for the first time ever.

The Chappelle attack also prompted a staff meeting at the Laugh Factory ... with leadership blaming the incident on the Will Smith slap at the Oscars, seeing it as some sort of copycat effect, combined with a lack of criminal charges for Will.

This photo shows how scary it must have been for Dave Chappelle Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, because the gun/knife that was thrust toward him looked like it could have fatal consequences.

The knife is affixed to the barrel of the gun, like a bayonet. As we reported, the gun was a replica but the knife is real ... real deadly if the attacker had actually used it when he jumped on stage and lunged at Dave, slamming him to the ground.

The big question ... how on earth did the 23-year-old assailant get the gun/knife past the metal detector? Our LAPD sources say there was one entrance area where the metal detector could be circumvented. That itself is a HUGE problem.

As you know, a bunch of people, including Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes, pounded on the guy ... who was injured and taken to the hospital. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

Dave continued his show and was uninjured, but he was clearly shaken up.

Dave Chappelle's Hollywood Bowl performance Tuesday night came to a temporary screeching halt when someone rushed the stage and attacked the comedian, and it was especially scary because we've learned the guy pulled out a gun.

It went down toward the end of Dave's show -- part of the "Netflix Is A Joke" festival -- when a man in the audience somehow got on stage and manhandled Dave, tackling him violently and slamming him on the hard stage.

Law enforcement tells TMZ, the attacker actually pointed the gun at Chappelle as he rushed him. We're told the gun was not real, it was a replica of a semi-automatic. It also weirdly had a knife attached to the gun.

And ... the question cops are asking this AM ... how did this guy get past the metal detector?

An eyewitness tells TMZ ... the attacker got up and started running as a swarm of people went after him. He was running around the screen on the stage when, as the eyewitness put it, "the mob caught up with him and beat the crap out of him, stomping on him." The eyewitness says Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes got a few licks in.

We're told Dave was ok but the attacker was injured and taken by stretcher to an ambulance. We're told he's currently in the hospital. LAPD sources tell us, the man was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

Dave continued with his act, telling the audience, "I don't know if that was part of the show. I grabbed the back of that n***** head, his hair was spongy, absorbent."

Now get this ... after the attack, guess who was there? Chris Rock! He was one of Dave's special guests. As Chris walked on stage, he hugged his pal and said, "Was that Will Smith?"

It's unclear who the attacker is or why he did it, but the show went on as planned.

The Kidd Creole -- a rap pioneer from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- just got a lengthy prison sentence for his conviction in the stabbing death of a homeless man.

Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the rap legend's sentence Wednesday ... 16 years in state prison, followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.

As we reported ... The Kidd Creole was convicted of first-degree manslaughter last month, for fatally stabbing a homeless man with a steak knife.

The incident went down in August 2017, when prosecutors say The Kidd Creole was walking past the man on the street and they exchanged words, with TKC walking past the man before turning back, confronting him face-to-face and stabbing him twice in the torso.

The D.A. says a group of tourists found the man bleeding in the street ... he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Horrifying scene at a youth flag football event in Virginia on Sunday ... two people were hit by bullets after an argument broke out on the sidelines in the middle of a game.

Prince Williams County Police confirmed to TMZ Sports that they were dispatched to Benton Middle School in Manassas on Sunday after receiving a call about gunfire at around 10:15 a.m.

When officers arrived, PWCPD says they found two men had been shot while a youth flag football game was taking place.

Dean Ladson -- who's part of the 703 United Youth Football team -- captured PWCPD carrying out one of the shooting victims ... and later told FOX 5 that it all appeared to start after people got into a verbal altercation at the game.

"The guy standing maybe closer than you and I pulls out a gun," Ladson said, "he shoots the other gentleman, then he takes off running up the hill."

Ladson says his 11-year-old son was there when the terrifying incident happened ... but he -- and all the other children at the game -- are thankfully safe and sound.

"He's fine," Ladson said. "He made a statement to my wife, she asked how he was doing and he said he's just glad to be alive. That's harsh for an 11-year-old to have to say."

PWCPD says the two shooting victims are expected to survive.

Police added that they have not yet apprehended the shooter ... telling us they're still on the hunt for a suspect described as a "black male, with a medium complexion, between 5’6”-5’10” and a thin build." Anyone with information is asked to call PWCPD at 703-792-7000.

Another parent, Amanda Proch, made a comment on the PWCPD Facebook page about the shooting -- and thanked law enforcement for their service.

"Thank you PWC Police Department for your quick actions! My kids were at that game and I am blessed to say they are safe," Proch said.

Rihanna wants to make it clear to everyone ... she and A$AP Rocky are solid.

A$AP headlined at the Smokers Club Festival Saturday night in WeHo, and RiRi was backstage showing her support.

She's reportedly just weeks away from giving birth to her first child, but showing up at the club was clearly important to her.

There's been lots of drama over the last few weeks. As we reported, A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon last month in connection with a shooting last November in Hollywood. A$AP and Rihanna were blindsided by cops who met them at LAX and hooked Rocky up. They then searched his house for weapons but did not find the gun used in the shooting.

Rapper Pooh Shiesty won't be a completely free man even after he does his time for a wild shootout -- the artist will have some serious restrictions, according to legal documents.

Pooh's sentencing docs, obtained by TMZ, show he'll have to be on supervised release for 3 years once he completes his 63 months in prison, and the supervision comes with a bunch of rules attached.

During the 3 years, Pooh isn't allowed to associate with any of his co-defendants or gang members ... and his PO has permission to search Pooh and his property from time to time.

The rapper will also have to go through a treatment program for drugs and alcohol.

As we reported, he's currently serving the 5-plus year sentence over a South Florida shootout from back in October 2020.

A$AP Rocky got good news and bad news ... LAPD sources tell TMZ, the guns they found at the rapper's home did not match the gun used in the shooting ... now for the bad news.

Our LAPD sources say they have video of the shooting in their possession ... presumably from a surveillance camera. A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon ... cops believe he shot a man in Hollywood last November during an argument, grazing his hand.

If the video is clear enough, it could be bad news for A$AP. The video could be even more powerful evidence than the gun itself.

Speaking of the guns ... we've now learned cops did indeed find multiple weapons when they executed a search warrant on his house last week, but they determined on the spot they were not the weapon they were looking for. In fact, we're told cops found shell casings at the crime scene, so they knew the type of caliber, and none of the guns at A$AP's home were a match.

Our Rocky sources say the weapons found were all fully registered and legally purchased.

We're told cops ran the serial number on the guns and they were all legally acquired. Turns out our Rocky sources were correct ... police didn't take the guns to the station -- they left them at Rocky's house.

The Sheriff in the "Rust" shooting investigation is apparently telling the widower and son of Halyna Hutchins to pound sand, because the video the Sheriff released showing Halyna slowly dying after being shot is still available for viewing on the official website.

TMZ broke the story, Matthew Hutchins' lawyer, Brian Panish, fired off a blistering email Wednesday to Sheriff Adan Mendoza, demanding he takes down the video footage of Halyna dying on the church floor on the set of "Rust."

But, as of this post, the video was still live on the link provided by the Sheriff.

Halyna's husband ripped Sheriff Mendoza, saying he trampled the family's dignity and privacy by releasing the footage and other evidence in the "Rust" shooting case.

The footage shows Halyna bleeding as medics frantically tend to her ... and her husband argues it will cause irreparable harm to both him and their 9-year-old son Andros.

The family lawyer claims Mendoza had promised to let Halyna's husband review all the material from the case before its release, but he says the Sheriff double-crossed the family by releasing all the evidence without giving Matthew a chance to take a look first and weigh in.

We've learned the Sheriff hasn't even responded to attorney Panish's demand.

The search at A$AP Rocky's home turned up guns, multiple guns, but what's unclear ... did cops seize the gun that was used to shoot a man during an argument in Hollywood?

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... detectives will run ballistic tests on the weapons ... to determine if Rocky was the triggerman.

We're also told cops will run background on the firearms to determine where they came from, who bought them, or if they'd been reported stolen.

As we reported, Rocky was arrested at a private LAX terminal last week when he and Rihanna returned from Barbados. Rocky was booked for assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the shooting in November in which cops say Rocky and an accomplice got into an argument in Hollywood that escalated to gunfire -- the alleged victim's hand was grazed.

TMZ broke the story ... Rocky and his legal team say they were shocked by the arrest and his alleged ties to the shooting. Rather than coordinate a voluntary surrender, cops simply nabbed him off the jet. Police say they needed the element of surprise so as not to tip A$AP off they would search his house for the weapon.

If one of the guns seized at Rocky's home turns out to be the weapon in question ... it could cement the case for prosecutors, who have yet to charge Rocky.

Halyna Hutchins' husband and young son have been re-victimized, this time by the Santa Fe County Sheriff, who released video of her as she lay dying after being shot.

Matthew Hutchins' lawyer, Brian Panish, fired off a blistering email to Sheriff Adan Mendoza, saying he trampled on their dignity and privacy by releasing the video and other evidence in the case.

Panish says Mendoza promised to let Matthew review all the material before its release, but he double-crossed the family by releasing all the evidence without giving Matthew a chance to look first.

Panish says in his email, obtained by TMZ, "Your office trampled on the constitutional rights of Hutchins." Indeed, there's a constitutional right in New Mexico for victims to be treated with fairness and dignity, and Panish says those rights were squarely violated.

Maybe even worse, Panish notes the footage of Matthew's wife, who lay bleeding as medics frantically tended to her, will cause irreparable harm to both him and their 9-year-old son Andros. Panish writes, "We fear, for example, that this shocking footage of Andros' mother dying may be material used by bullies to emotionally abuse him in the future."

And what's especially maddening ... Panish says the Sheriff didn't have to release this evidence ... it was discretionary.

Rob Kardashian says his relationship with Blac Chyna started when he was going through the worst part of his life, and says he didn't even love her when they got engaged ... all during bombshell testimony.

Rob took the stand Wednesday in the case between Chyna and his family. He said things in his relationship with Chyna happened fast ... and thought she was right for him because she accepted him when he was going through his "lowest point."

He testified things went south quickly, and when he asked her to marry him, he didn't even love her ... "It wasn't real love. I had a baby with this girl."

Rob testified Chyna beat him at least 5 times over the course of their relationship. He continued, "I had a gun held to my head several times by this woman. That's not love."

Rob also detailed the night when Chyna allegedly strangled him with a phone cord, saying she'd been doing cocaine and drinking all night. He says the incident caused him to hire full time security out of fear for his life and for his daughter, Dream.

As we've reported, all of Rob's sisters, except Kendall and Kourtney, have taken the stand over the last couple of weeks. During Khloe's testimony, emails she had allegedly sent E! execs were read in which she expressed concerns Rob and Chyna's turbulent relationship could hurt the family brand ... she also suggested she might leave 'KUWTK' if the volatile behavior continued.

In other testimony, Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble say they believed Chyna had posed a very real threat to Rob's life ... Gamble says he intervened one night during a nasty fight between the couple -- where Chyna allegedly threatened to kill Rob.

Chyna's suing the family for $100 million ... alleging they torpedoed her "Rob & Chyna" show and in turn, caused her to lose out on a ton of money.

DaBaby's legal team says folks are wrong for jumping to conclusions over a recently surfaced video of the rapper shooting and killing a man at a Walmart ... they say it actually supports the rapper's defense.

Here's the deal ... Rolling Stone published surveillance footage Sunday from the 2018 fatal shooting in North Carolina, and the article appeared to question DaBaby's self-defense narrative.

DaBaby's lawyers, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, tell TMZ ... the video was reviewed by prosecutors back in 2018  ... and they concluded DaBaby acted in self-defense and therefore was not prosecuted for homicide.

We're told the video was even viewed by a Mecklenburg County judge in connection with a misdemeanor charge for not having the proper permits for his gun.

As for the self-defense part, DaBaby told cops the victim and another accomplice were following him around the Walmart store, and allegedly threatened him and flashed a gun ... causing him to feel the need to protect himself.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of "Rust," was completely beside herself after the fatal on-set shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins ... this according to her attorney.

Hannah's lawyer, Jason Bowles, tells TMZ ... one of the first things she asked Lt. Benavides after the shooting is "Are they okay?" and "Is she okay?"

Hannah's in the body cam footage ... pretty clearly distraught and breathing heavily as she speaks to the lieutenant. Hannah talks to another crew member as she looks like she's panicking and grabbing her hair, telling them she's been yelled at several times already ... unclear what about.

A cart containing the rounds is wheeled up to Hannah ... as she attempts to show the lieutenant the rounds in question, she says she's "so scared" while seemingly hyperventilating. She then starts to cry while apologizing for what happened.

Other footage shows Hannah calling the event the worst day of her life.

At one point, she asked to be taken to a squad car away from her coworkers, saying, "I just want to get the f*** out of here and never show my face in this industry again."

As we reported, the footage is among hours released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff on Monday, including the body cam taken of Alec Baldwin concerned for Halyna Hutchins.

Terrifying scene at a youth baseball game in South Carolina on Monday night ... a flurry of gunshots erupted near the diamond -- sending kids running in fear.

The incident -- which happened at around 8:44 p.m. at a local park in North Charleston -- was captured on video sent to ABC News 4 from a viewer ... showing as kids were playing in a game, dozens of gunshots rang out from a nearby parking lot.

According to the North Charleston Police Department, witnesses said the gunfire happened shortly after a large group of teenagers got into a fistfight in the area. Cops say the teens opened fire on each other following the physical altercation, but fled the area before officers arrived.

Police say three cars were hit by bullets during the incident ... but somehow, no one was injured.

As for the baseball game, you can see in video, coaches and players were horrified by it all -- with kids hitting the ground in an attempt to avoid any stray bullets.

A spokesperson for the NCPD said Tuesday morning the gunfire had nothing to do with the game ... adding that the mayor of North Charleston was "appalled by what he heard and saw."

The spokesperson said an investigation into the incident is underway ... explaining, "We will leave no stone unturned in bringing these suspects to justice."

Cops also said they're looking into ways they can make parks and playgrounds in the area safer -- and are providing resources to the kids who were affected by the terrifying incident.