Weapons & Guns

Alex Jones has been NAILED for perpetuating a lie about the Sandy Hook massacre, and some of the families of the children who were murdered have just gotten word from the jury ... that Jones must ante up nearly $1 billion.

The Connecticut jury just hit Jones between the eyes ... finding the emotional distress and trauma he caused by his campaign was so enormous ... justice required an enormous damage award.

The total verdict -- divided among the 8 families and 1 first responder -- adds up to $965M.

The families' lawyer, Chris Mattei, told jurors in last week's closing arguments that Jones lies to generate revenue for his site, while the parents in mourning received death threats and harassment from his fans.

Jones was on the air on his radio show when the verdict was read ... telling his listeners, "This must be what hell is like -- they just read out the damages, even though you don't got the money." Jones also said the case was a joke and asked his listeners for donations.

The legal battle started way back in 2018, when the families went after Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

The cop who shot 17-year-old Erik Cantu at a San Antonio McDonald's has surrendered to authorities and has been charged with 2 felonies ... this as Cantu fights for his life.

25-year-old rookie police officer James Brennand has been charged with 2 counts of aggravated assault by a peace officer.

Cantu was eating a burger in the parking lot of Mcdonald's when Brennand spotted him and recognized his car ... Brennand said the driver had evaded police the day before the shooting.

Erik remains unconscious on life support ... according to his family. The family gave an ominous statement Tuesday, "There is no improvement in his condition. The last two days have been difficult, and we expect more difficulty ahead, but we remain hopeful."

Brennand approached Cantu's car, opened the driver's door and ordered Cantu out. Cantu put it in reverse and the cop began shooting multiple rounds, striking him several times.

The 17-year-old shot multiple times by a cop while eating outside a McDonald's is on life support after several of his organs were punctured ... TMZ has learned.

Erik Cantu's family, through his attorney Brian Powers, tells TMZ the teen has undergone multiple surgeries to repair major organs that were damaged -- a result of the gunfire.

Erik's being closely monitored as the system keeps his lungs operating. He still remains sedated to hopefully ease the pain and discomfort he'd face if conscious.

Erik is struggling, and the recovery won't be easy for him, but his family thanks everyone for sending prayers ... asking for more of that love during this time of uncertainty.

As we reported, bodycam footage -- released by police last week -- showed San Antonio PD Officer James Brennand shoot multiple times at the unarmed kid. Brennand was at the location for an unrelated call ... but Cantu had apparently evaded Brennand on another call the day before.

If anyone knows about surviving a shooting, it's 50 Cent ... that's why the rap legend shouted out Commanders RB Brian Robinson on social media,  celebrating the 3rd round draft pick for playing just six weeks after he was shot twice.

"That s**t ain’t stop nothing, 👀when God has bigger plans it’s just a bump in the road. @b.robinson_4 right back in action 💪🏽," 50 wrote on Instagram Monday morning.

50, of course, was famously shot 9 times in 2000 ... and miraculously survived.

23-year-old Robinson returned to the field on Sunday ... after being shot in his butt and leg on August 28th. The Commanders lost to the Titans, 21-17, but Robinson ran the ball 9 times for 22 yards.

Robinson -- who had surgery after the shooting -- was medically cleared to play last week ... but the team wanted to give the rookie ball carrier a little extra time to heal.

It was well worth the wait for fans ... who were clearly pumped to see Robinson. When he ran onto the field before kickoff, he received one of the loudest ovations.

After the game, someone on the internet put Fif's song "Many Men" -- largely about his shooting -- to video of Robinson running onto the field for the first time ... and it's pretty damn cool.

An actor in Alec Baldwin's "Rust" movie is on board with resuming production after Halyna Hutchins' tragic death ... thanks to now having her family's blessing.

Douglas Stewart, who plays the town father in the western flick, tells TMZ ... the biggest hurdle in finishing the movie was knowing whether Halyna's family wanted it done, and having her widower involved is what the cast needed to hear to move forward.

As we reported, Matthew Hutchins announced this week he's dropping the wrongful death suit against Alec, the producers and others ... having reached a settlement.

Alec is now going to finish in his lead role, alongside the OG "Rust" cast, with Halyna's widower becoming an executive producer on the movie.

Douglas says he has mixed feelings about completing the flick because of the tragedy, but says as a working actor who has a family to care for ... he ultimately feels it's the right move given heightened safety precautions and Matthew's involvement.

The civil settlement is not affecting the criminal investigation -- authorities say some of the folks involved, including Alec, could be charged -- but Douglas says he doesn't think it will have an impact on finishing the film -- completing the film and any criminal case are separate issues.

A televised high school football game abruptly cut to commercial Friday night after a flurry of shots rang out outside an Ohio stadium.

Check out this footage showing two rival teams running a play on the field when at least 12 gunshots were fired nearby. None of the players seemed to notice until the crowd freaked out and started to scatter. As players and fans ran for their lives, the broadcaster quickly announced, "We're going to break."

Another video showed people jumping from the stands and taking cover on the ground after the gunfire.

Toledo PD said 3 people were shot outside the stadium of Whitmer High School, which was playing Central Catholic HS. The victims -- 1 student and 2 adults -- were not seriously wounded, but taken to a hospital.

Investigators reportedly arrested 2 suspects and were searching for 2 more. A motive has not been disclosed.

Officials from the Washington Local Schools District issued a statement, saying no one in the crowd was injured and all guests had been screened prior to the game.

A San Antonio police officer is out of a job after shooting a teenager who was eating a meal in a car parked outside a McDonald's ... and the incident is all on video.

The shooting went down Sunday night at a Mickey D's, but police just released bodycam footage showing the cop firing multiple shots into the car.

The officer walked up to a parked car, opened the driver's door and the teen behind the wheel freaks out in between bites of a burger. The kid then reversed to drive away and the cop started shooting.

Several gunshots ring out as the car drives off into the night, with the officer giving chase.

As it turns out, San Antonio PD says the officer was at the fast food joint for a disturbance call unrelated to the vehicle from the shooting.

Cops say the officer approached the car because he thought it was the same vehicle that allegedly evaded police the day before.

The teen reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He was initially charged with evading detention and assault on a police officer but those charges have since been dismissed, and the case is closed.

Master P is helping a child blinded by gun violence achieve a dream to become a published author ... with the announcement of his new line of books.

The No Limit Records colonel tells TMZ Hip Hop he was directly inspired by the perseverance of Malachi Roberts ... a Kentucky-born kid who tragically lost his sight at age 5. Malachi and his mother were innocent bystanders, shot in a December 2002 drive-by while they were in their own home.

Now, 7 years old ... the prodigy's launching his own series of children's books in collaboration with Master P and Snoop Dogg's developing Snoop Loopz cereal brand.

The pioneering rapper recently made the trek to Louisville for the grand announcement ... the first book, "Adventures with Malachi: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work" will feature characters from Snoop's cereal.

P says the goal of Snoop's Broadus Family Foods is to help all kids like Malachi be able to overcome adversity ... especially those rooted in issues impacting their neighborhoods.

He's confident that planting seeds of diversity in the children's minds -- and grocery stores -- will help them go on to become future leaders in society.

P says the books will be dropping in 2023 and, naturally, they will be available in braille.

President Biden put the nation on red alert Thursday, announcing nuclear "Armageddon" is a real possibility given Russia's recent setbacks in its 8-month war in Ukraine.

At a Democratic fundraiser hosted by James Murdoch, Biden characterized Russian Czar Vladimir Putin as "a guy I know fairly well" -- and added, Putin was "not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons."

Biden went on to say, "We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis." He also implied the threat from Putin is tangible "because his military is -- you might say -- significantly underperforming."

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day showdown in 1962 born out of the Soviet Union's deployment of nuclear weapons in Cuba ... prompting the Kennedy administration to launch a naval blockade of the island.

As far as the public knows, it remains the closest the U.S ever came to a nuclear war.

Biden says he's still "trying to figure" out Putin's "off-ramp" in Ukraine. Where does he find a way out?" Biden asked. "Where does he find himself in a position that he does not not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?"

Despite Biden's chilling warning, U.S. officials have NOT seen Russia change its nuclear posture to launch an imminent attack.

Letrell Duncan -- one of the best young high school basketball players in New Jersey -- was shot and killed on Monday, authorities said.

He was just 16 years old.

Officials in Essex County, NJ told multiple media outlets that Duncan -- a sophomore at East Orange Campus High School -- was shot four times at around 3:15 PM near his H.S. He was rushed to a nearby hospital ... but tragically succumbed to his injuries.

Authorities told NJ.com no arrests have been in the case ... though investigators are looking for "a group of people and a vehicle seen in the area at the time of the shooting."

Anyone with information is being urged to call 1-877-847-7432.

Duncan, a point guard, was considered a top talent in the state. His AAU team, Garden State Bounce, had described him as a "floor general, team captain, and the best point guard our program has seen."

"He was an excellent teammate," the team added in a social media post mourning his loss, "a great friend, and a coach's ideal player."

City officials, meanwhile, said in a statement on Tuesday that Duncan's death "has shaken our community to its core." They said police patrols in schools would be increased in wake of the tragedy -- and vowed to take "aggressive action" when it comes to the fight to end gun violence.

A GoFundMe for Duncan's family has been set up -- and has already raised nearly $5,000.

Elon Musk's father fancies himself a real-life Dirty Harry or Rambo-like figure -- he's recounting how he once took out a mob of home intruders ... all by himself.

The way Errol Musk describes the 1998 incident really does sound like a Hollywood action movie -- he and his then 6-year-old daughter, Ali, were in his South African home ... and while she was taking a bath, he encountered 7 armed men in another part of the house.

The 76-year-old told The Sun the gang immediately opened fire on him, but just like in the movies ... he miraculously dodged all the bullets, retreated to a bedroom and grabbed a .357 Magnum handgun.

Errol says his gun was loaded with hollow point bullets, and his very first shot went straight through one intruder's head, and the shrapnel entered another's chest. He says both men were killed. At that point, he says the rest of them fled, but he managed to shoot one more in a hallway.

Completing the scene ... Errol says Ali -- who'd be in the bathtub -- came out after hearing the shootout, and clung to her father's leg. Mr. "Lethal Weapon" says he was acquitted of manslaughter charges for the incident, on the grounds of self-defense.

Errol's heroic tale comes on the heels of Elon recently tweeting a reminder to the world that he and his father are estranged.

The billionaire tycoon said his dad ran out of money in the '90s, and he and his brother financially supported him on the condition that he "not do bad things." Unfortunately, according to Elon, he did do bad things.

Elon's point seemed to be dad isn't keeping up his end of the bargain.

As for Errol's marksmanship ... he says he once won the South African National Defence Force's shooting championships.

A Montana woman is in hot water after she proudly displayed the carcass of a dog she killed, and then skinned ... thinking it was a baby wolf, and the public is irate.

Her name is Amber Rose (no relation to the famous one) and she announced her kill recently on Facebook, posting a series of very graphic photos where she showed off the dead pooch -- before and after it was reduced to a fur rug in the bed of her pickup truck.

She wrote, "So this morning I set out for a solo predator hunt for a fall black bear however I got the opportunity to take another predator wolf pup 2022 was a great feeling to text my man and say I just smoked a wolf pup. #firstwolf #onelesspredatorMT."

The horrifying kill went down somewhere in Montana's Flathead County, and the local Sheriff's Office, Animal Control and Fish and Game agencies all tell us they're aware of it ... and have launched investigations that are ongoing.

There's no word yet on what, if any, legal/criminal repercussions Rose might face ... but it's clear folks in the area are already up in arms and want her to pay. Several Facebook users say they've filed complaints demanding she be held accountable. The general consensus is how could she not know this was someone's Siberian husky, and NOT a wolf???

Rose is defending herself amid all the backlash ... insisting she was in the right here.

Rose took to FB to tell everyone she did, in fact, have a wolf tag -- licensing her to hunt the animal -- while also explaining ... yes, she made a mistake. Despite that admission, she says she'd do it all over again, because she claims the husky was acting wild, aggressive and charging her. From her POV, she had every right to protect herself -- wolf or not -- so she didn't break any laws.

Still, many who are doing comparisons between huskies and wolves note the latter tend to be much larger, and have a different look than your average husky.

Alec Baldwin could be facing criminal charges in connection to the fatal 'Rust' shooting -- because the D.A. is asking New Mexico for help in financing several potential prosecutions.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies reportedly filed an emergency request last week, asking the New Mexico Board of Finance for extra funds to assist in bringing up to four possible criminal cases that may materialize from her office's investigation into the death of Halyna Hutchins.

Carmack-Altwies got half of what she wanted --  according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, she was awarded $317,000 in relief ... although she had asked for $635k -- which is what her office estimated it would cost to handle the would-be cases.

The D.A. has since said that she'll be seeking the remainder of the dough through a special appropriation request -- which suggests she may actually need the full amount to bring any charges related to the fatal incident on the 'Rust' set.

Now, while the D.A. isn't definitively naming names in any potential charges -- her office is explicitly saying Baldwin could be on the chopping block. The docs they filed, cited by SFNM, reportedly say ... "One of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin."

It's unclear what sort of charges he (or others) might face, but the D.A. told local media she was considering all homicide statutes as well as gun statutes under the NM criminal code.

Baldwin has maintained that Halyna's death was an accident, and not his fault in the slightest ... deflecting blame to other crew members, whom he says should've checked the gun to make sure it wasn't loaded and was functioning properly. He claims he didn't pull the trigger, but rather ... that the gun went off on its own after he pulled back the hammer.

A couple things to note about the D.A.'s move here -- Carmack-Altwies says she's expecting the final report from the Sheriff's Office soon ... but it sounds like she's been in the loop along the way, because she's already signaling the exact number of possible defendants. Her request also notes this is urgent, and the cases would need to be dealt with immediately -- hence her emergency request for a ton of cash.

A Michigan radio host was murdered Friday after he and his family were savagely attacked in their home by a guest who then tried to kill himself, this according to local reports.

WWJ 950 overnight anchor Jim Matthews was with his girlfriend and 2 children in their Detroit-area condo around noon when they allegedly invited over a man who lives across the street. Neighbors had seen the man with Matthews' girlfriend in the past.

What happened next was still under investigation ... but Matthew's girlfriend and his 5-year-old daughter made it out of the condo alive and flagged down someone driving by. His girlfriend had been stabbed several times and his daughter was injured as well.

After the driver called 911, Chesterfield Township officers responded to the apartment and had to force their way inside, finding Matthews dead. His 10-year-old boy was discovered bound and beaten inside a closet.

What's more ... police went to the basement where they encountered the suspect -- who was overdosing on heroin after sustaining self-inflicted wounds.

Matthews' girlfriend and son were listed in critical condition at the hospital. His daughter was in stable condition.

The suspect was given Narcan to save his life. He, too, was hospitalized in stable condition.

As for Matthews, WWJ Newsradio 950 issued a statement ... “There have been many tears shed in our newsroom today and Jim will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jim’s family and friends during this difficult time.”

Authorities did not release a motive and were weighing criminal charges.

The brother of slain boxer Isiah Jones has been arrested and charged with murder ... after prosecutors say he shot and killed the fighter following a dispute earlier this week.

According to officials, Timothy Lyman is accused of getting into an argument with Jones at around 6:20 PM on Monday in Detroit ... before shooting him in the face and fleeing the area.

Authorities say Jones was found unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead.

Lyman was arrested on Wednesday -- and, according to prosecutors, he's now been charged with one count of second-degree murder, and one count of felony firearm.

He's due in court for a hearing in the case later Thursday.

According to Roshawn Jones, Isiah's longtime boxing trainer, Isiah was a "very great father" who "provided for his kids."

"He was a hard worker," Roshawn added in an interview with The Ring after the boxer's death. "Everyone is not perfect in life but he was a good human being. He’d make you smile and laugh and was a great role model in the gym."

Isiah -- a National Golden Gloves winner -- turned pro in 2016, and piled up a 9-7 record.

Roshawn has set up a GoFundMe for the fighter, explaining the money will go toward his funeral and his kids.

Ludacris' manager, Chaka Zulu, has been arrested for murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man outside his restaurant -- but new video from the incident shows Zulu getting beaten by a group of men before he fired -- giving way to a self-defense argument.

We've obtained surveillance footage recorded June 26 outside Zulu's Atlanta restaurant Apt4B. A group of men, including Artez Benton -- who was killed in the melee -- arrive to Apt4B, park in the valet area and make their way inside. 10 minutes later, the men leave the restaurant after some sort of dispute.

That's where the video starts. Zulu, who was previously in the parking lot speaking to a friend, starts making his way back toward the restaurant ... when he gets into a heated exchange with Tre'mon Robinson, one of the guys who was told to leave the restaurant.

During the argument, a man named Corey Crawford is seen retrieving something out of a vehicle. A source directly connected to the case tells us Zulu's legal team believes Crawford was getting a gun.

Robinson motions to his friends to come over and then appears to chest bump Zulu ... and that's when all hell breaks loose.

Chaka grabs Robinson, but Crawford and Benton jump in and they all begin pummeling Chaka. At one point, Chaka's female assistant (in the orange shirt) attempts to help Chaka, but Robinson punches her in the face ... knocking her to the ground.

Crawford ducks for cover behind two vehicles, and that's when shots ring out. It appears Chaka is the first to fire, striking Benton ... a plume of smoke is visible from Chaka's gun. Another plume of smoke appears to emanate from Crawford's gun. It appears he fired several shots and one hits Chaka in the back.

Benton was hit in the chest ... you see him crawl away. He later died from his injuries.

As we reported, Chaka's been arrested for murder, aggravated assault, simple battery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He turned himself into authorities last week, but from the beginning, he's maintained he acted in self-defense.