Weapons & Guns

Vice President Kamala Harris could have been in danger Wednesday afternoon ... the Secret Service tells us agents detained a man outside the Veep's D.C. residence and cops say he had guns and ammo.

The agents stopped the man around 1 PM ET near the Naval Observatory, which is the traditional Vice President's mansion. Cops say they found a firearm, a bunch of ammo and several gun clips with ammo in the man's car, which was parked in a D.C. garage.

Fortunately, the Veep wasn't at the Naval Observatory when agents nabbed the man -- the mansion is getting a bunch of repairs so she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff have been living at Blair House ... a 19th-century row house steps away from the White House.

The Vice Prez was working Wednesday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is right next to Blair House.

Story developing ...

LeBron James says his thoughts and prayers are with the "entire Asian community" after a gun-toting maniac went on a shooting spree in Atlanta Tuesday night, killing 8 people including 6 Asian women.

"My condolences goes out to the families of all the victims and the entire Asian community tonight on what transpired in Atlanta at the Aromatherapy Spa," Lebron said in a statement late Tuesday evening.

LeBron then tore into the shooting suspect -- 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long -- calling him a "Coward a** young man!!"

Bron continued, "Just senseless and tragic!!"

Officials say Long opened fire at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Cherokee County, Georgia -- killing 4 people and injuring 1 more.

Then, officials say Long went to the Gold Massage Spa where he killed 3 more people.

Finally, Long allegedly went across the street to the Aromatherapy Spa and killed one more person.

In total, 8 people are dead including 6 Asian women.

Officials captured Long Tuesday night by using a pit maneuver on his SUV to stop his car.

He's since been taken into custody and charged with murder.

Investigators have neither confirmed the motive behind the shooting or confirmed if it was racially motivated.

After the incident, NBA star Jeremy Lin -- who's been speaking out against anti-Asian racism for years -- also weighed in saying, "This is sooo heartbreaking ... praying for our world."

"To my Asian American family, please take time to grieve but know youre loved, seen and IMPORTANT. We have to keep standing up, speaking out, rallying together and fighting for change. We cannot lose hope! #StopAsianHate #NOW."

Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo also released a statement Wednesday ... saying he's "deeply saddened" by the tragedy ... and went into detail about his own experiences with racism.

"As an Asian American, I have heard the jokes and name calling," Koo said. "I often dealt with it by ignoring what was said and minding my own business."

FYI -- Koo was born in South Korea but was raised in the United States.

He continued ... "I don’t have all the answers, but I realize now more than ever that this is an issue that needs to be addressed and that ignoring it won’t help us do that."

Newly crowned Super Bowl champ Jaydon Mickens is in trouble with the law ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was arrested last week in Los Angeles.

Law enforcement tells us the 26-year-old -- a Bucs receiver and return specialist -- was pulled over on March 5 after cops say his window tint was too dark.

During the stop, we're told officers found a gun inside the car -- NOT on his person -- and arrested him over it.

Mickens was booked on a felony concealed weapon charge. We're told the LAPD later informed the NFL of the arrest.

The Bucs issued a statement saying they are "aware of the issue regarding Jaydon that occurred in Los Angeles last week."

"He reached out to let us know about the situation soon after it happened and we have been in contact with the league office to ensure they were aware."

"We will continue to monitor the situation but will have no further comment at this time."

Mickens played in Tampa's championship win over the K.C. Chiefs last month ... taking back three kickoffs for an average of 25 yards a pop.

The 4-year NFL veteran was signed by the Bucs back in the 2019 season ... and has served as a key special teamer since.

He caught 7 passes for 58 yards this past season.

Jackboy's driver literally couldn't stay in his lane, according to cops, and that's what ended up leading to the rapper's Georgia arrest on a gun charge.

Monroe County cops say they pulled over the blue Lamborghini SUV Jackboy was traveling in last month when an officer noticed the driver failed to maintain his lane.

According to the report ... the cop smelled marijuana in the vehicle during the traffic stop, so he called for backup to conduct a search.

Cops say during the search, 2 unregistered firearms were discovered in the passenger side glove box where Jackboy was sitting -- a 9mm and a Glock.

According to the report ... Jackboy said he didn't know the guns were in the vehicle, and the back seat passenger claimed they were his. Problem is, according to the report, police ran Jackboy's record and discovered he was a convicted felon -- so it's illegal for him to be within arms reach of a firearm.

The "Pressure" rapper was arrested and booked for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He bonded out later the same day for $2,500, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

On the bright side, police say they let Jackboy and his crew off with a verbal warning for a small amount of weed they found -- and he seemingly didn't have to eat any of it this time.

Celebs might be extra vigilant the next time they go out to eat in Bev Hills ... a woman was shot in the leg outside a super popular eatery in a brazen, daylight armed robbery.

The shooting went down Thursday afternoon outside Il Pastaio restaurant. We're told the shooter and 2 accomplices were after a $500,000 Richard Mille watch a man was wearing, and a woman was struck in the leg by gunfire.

An eyewitness told us the shooter fired off 3 or 4 rounds. The woman who was hit was having lunch near the man who was wearing the watch. The shooter made off with the timepiece -- and diners scrambled for safety -- as evidenced in the photos we obtained.

As far as we can tell no one else was shot, although diners were frantically checking themselves for bullet wounds.

Rapper DaniLeigh, who has been dating DaBaby, had just parked in front of the restaurant when the gunfire erupted.

As you can see ... the celeb hot spot is crawling with cops, and there's a ton of police tape wrapped around the restaurant's outdoor seating area, where a huge crowd of curious onlookers is gathering.

Celebrity photographer Tyler Shields was on the scene when gunfire erupted ... he said he herded a large group of people into a nearby parking garage when the shots rang out. Thankfully, he says everyone around him was OK ... and shared a message of love.

The Italian restaurant is extremely popular among famous folks ... we've seen lots of celebs dining there over the years, and it's where we get a bunch of them on camera.

Cops are on the hunt for a Buccaneers fan who they say robbed and shot a man during a "night of terror" shortly after a Super Bowl party in Tampa last month.

Officials at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office just released video of the suspect ... accusing the man in a Devin White jersey of turning "a night of celebrating into a night of terror."

"We want to find this individual immediately," Sheriff Chad Chronister said Tuesday. "& we are asking anyone who may have seen him the night of the big game to reach out to our detectives."

Cops say at around 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 8 -- just hours after Tampa's win over the Chiefs -- the Bucs fan and one other person offered a man a ride to a nearby Hard Rock Casino after a Super Bowl party.

The problem ... according to cops, the two men stopped the car on the way to the casino, ordered him out of the ride at gunpoint, and demanded he give them his jewelry.

Cops say the suspect in the White jersey then shot the man after he handed over the valuables. Officials claim the two men then fled the scene.

Fortunately, cops say the alleged victim is recovering ... but they're now releasing video hoping it leads to the arrest of one of the suspects.

In the footage, the man wanted by cops -- clearly sporting a jersey of the Bucs' best linebacker -- has a long beard and a black hat with light blue/grey jeans.

Bay Area rapper Laney Keyz's home got riddled with bullets and it wasn't a drive-by ... it was a walk-up, and it was all captured on some wild video.

TMZ has obtained surveillance footage that shows three men walk up to what we're told was Laney's L.A. home in the wee hours of Feb. 18 ... and you see them fire off several rounds at the property before they turn around and make a run for it.

One of the guys seems to linger to shoot a bit more ... and eventually scrams with his cohorts. It doesn't appear anyone returned fire -- even though they react like that happened.

Anyway, law enforcement sources tell us LAPD officers located a number of shell casings on the ground where the shooting was reported, but they’ve come up empty thus far on possible suspects. Fortunately, we're told no one was injured in the gunfire ... an investigation's underway.

As for Laney ... sources familiar with the situation tell us he WAS inside during the shooting, but walked away unscathed. Our sources say no one can think of a motive as to why anyone shot at him, so the whole thing remains a mystery.

The woman alleging T.I. put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her is now claiming she's getting harassed because the rapper and his wife are smearing her name.

Sabrina Peterson's suing T.I. and Tiny for defamation, because according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... she says the couple's public statements and social media posts have smeared her good name ever since she made her allegation against T.I.

Peterson claims she got into an altercation with T.I.'s assistant, and T.I. responded by pointing a gun at her head and saying, "Bitch I'll kill you."

According to the docs ... shortly after making her allegation in January, Tiny retaliated by insulting her and posting a photo of Peterson's 8-year-old son to her millions of followers. Peterson says this exposed her son to "vitriol and danger."

T.I. and Tiny subsequently released statements denying a variety of sexual abuse allegations and other claims against them ... including specifically denying the claims made by Peterson.

Peterson claims being singled out -- along with allegedly being referenced in T.I.'s 8-minute video where he denies allegations and talks about "evil at play" -- has led to her receiving harassing and threatening messages on Instagram.

She's suing the couple for defamation and infliction of emotional distress. We reached out to T.I. ... no word back yet.

There's new evidence to suggest the 2 men who dognapped Lady Gaga's French bulldogs and shot her dog walker may not have even known they were her dogs ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement and other sources tell TMZ ... dog walker Ryan Fischer was not just taking a short walk around the block when he was ambushed ... we've learned ... just minutes before the attack he was at a store with the dogs 7 blocks away.

Ryan and the 3 dogs were at Almor Wine & Spirits at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Fairfax in Hollywood. As most of you know, Sunset Blvd. is heavily trafficked and well lit, and someone could have spotted Ryan and gotten a good look at the dogs ... to determine their breed.

He then walked 4/10 of a mile ... where he was ambushed on a residential street. TMZ broke the story ... Ryan was shot and 2 dogs were stolen. They have since been recovered unharmed by a woman who saw them tied to a pole in an alley. Law enforcement believes Ryan walked for about 10 minutes before being ambushed.

We've learned LAPD detectives have gone to the store and obtained the surveillance tape, which shows Ryan and the dogs. Unfortunately, the white sedan with the perpetrators is not seen in the video.

Although cops initially believed the target may well have been Gaga, there's now a real possibility the perpetrators could have seen Ryan on Sunset Blvd., scoped out the dogs and followed him to a dark, residential street.

There's another reason this may not be a hit targeted at Gaga ... during the entire time the perpetrators had the dogs, sources connected to Gaga tell us they never made a ransom demand.

Talk about asleep at the wheel ... getta load of this pooch that didn't let a little armed robbery get in the way of his afternoon nap!

A jewelry store owner in Thailand may be calling Cesar Millan after his "guard dog" slept through a fake, armed robbery training drill.

The Husky named Lucky was out like a light when the "robber" breezed in and pointed a gun at the owner.

The point of the exercise was to teach staff how to react. If Lucky's considered staff ... he flunked the test.

The "robber" made off with a bag of bling.

Lady Gaga's 2 French Bulldogs that were stolen this week were tied to a pole in an alley, miles from where they were dognapped, and the finder is in for a big reward ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... they believe the woman who found the dogs is a Good Samaritan who happened upon the dogs and recognized them from all the media attention. We're told the woman saw the email address we posted from Gaga and said she found the dogs, and she was advised to take them to a nearby police station. The dogs are fine.

As we reported, police believe the woman has no involvement in the dognapping so she deposited the dogs at the PD and left.

As for the reward, sources directly connected to Gaga tell TMZ she will "gladly" pay the $500,000 reward to the finder and we're told tears of joy are still flowing in Rome.

Lady Gaga may have been the target of criminals who shot her dog walker and stole 2 of her French Bulldogs ... law enforcement tells TMZ.

We're told the LAPD is seriously looking at the possibility the shooter/thieves knew the dogs were owned by Gaga, and the video obtained by TMZ more than supports that theory.

If you look closely, the car that comes upon dog walker Ryan Fischer clearly was headed for him. The car stops and two people immediately jump out and attack the dog walker. There's no way they would have instantly known these dogs were a valuable breed ... they're small and it was dark outside. The dogs could have easily been rescues, mixed breeds, a less valuable breed ... fact is, these criminals knew.

What's more ... our law enforcement sources tell us, Ryan Fischer told numerous people in the neighborhood he was walking Gaga's dogs, so lots of people knew.

From what we know, this was supposed to be a short walk -- 10 PM at night, so the dogs could go poop and pee. It's not like the robbers were able to follow Ryan a long distance ... if they were indeed targeting Gaga's dogs, they could have scoped him out in the days before to determine his walking schedule.

As for the $500,000 ransom Gaga is offering ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ no one has been in touch with the singer or her reps so far demanding payment.

The abduction of Lady Gaga's dogs and the shooting of her dog walker has put Hollywood dog walkers on high alert ... they're looking to protect themselves and the pets they care for with some significant firepower.

We contacted a bunch of dog walking companies in the Hollywood area -- where the shooting/abduction went down -- and according to a few companies, they're increasing security -- changing their dog-walking schedules to prevent a repeat of what happened Wednesday night.

Anna-Marie Arredondo, owner of Happy Heart Pet Care in WeHo, tells TMZ ... she's looking to get a concealed carry permit, STAT. If she's successful -- which is incredibly difficult to obtain in California -- she plans on packing heat on her walks.

She's also looking into taking jiu-jitsu classes so she can protect herself and the pets. What's more ... all nighttime walks will only go down in well-lit, highly-trafficked areas. She says if it's too dark or sketchy ... she'll haul the dogs in her car and drive to a safer spot.

Renee Lutz, owner of Fetch! Pet Care in the Hollywood Hills, tells TMZ ... she'll give all 38 of her dog walkers pepper spray and flashlights. She's also 86ing nighttime walks.

Alyssa and Saul, owners of Troop Canine in Griffith Park, tell TMZ ... they, too, are no longer doing nighttime walks ... for the foreseeable future, they'll limiting walks to mornings and afternoons. They're also looking into purchasing body cams, like GoPros, so cameras are rolling should any would-be thieves want to get handsy.

All the owners we spoke to said they'll continue to walk French Bulldogs ... a coveted breed. TMZ broke the story ... Lady Gaga's dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot Wednesday night in Hollywood after 2 men got out of a white sedan and abducted 2 of her French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav.

TMZ has obtained dramatic, upsetting video, of the actual confrontation between the shooters and Lady Gaga's dog walker which ended with the dog walker shot and 2 of her dogs stolen.

The surveillance video from a neighbor's home shows a white sedan roll up on the dog walker, Ryan Fischer, and 2 men get out of the backseat ... you hear one of the men cock the gun, saying, "give it up."

Fischer puts up a fight, screaming for help and yelling for Koji -- one of the dogs -- before the gun goes off, striking Fischer in the chest ... he immediately hits the sidewalk. Each of the thieves then pile into the backseat, with one dog per person ... the second dog can be heard yelping as it's taken ... and the third dog left behind runs back to Fischer.

The neighbor only agreed to release this video after getting word that Gaga's team wanted it to be seen to catch the shooter and recover her dogs, Koji and Gustav. The neighbor believes the getaway vehicle was a Nissan, it appears it could have been an Altima or Sentra.

TMZ broke the story ... Fischer was out walking 3 of Gaga's French Bulldogs late Wednesday when the attack happened. Gaga has offered $500,000 for their return.

Rep. Lauren Boebert is thumbing her nose at the new rules in Congress -- metal detectors be damned, she's strongly suggesting she still brings a weapon to work at the Capitol.

We got Colorado's freshman Congresswoman Thursday afternoon on her way to Capitol Hill, and asked a pretty loaded question: How's the first year on the j-o-b going?

Boebert, a noted gun enthusiast from Rifle, CO, immediately teed off on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's new regulations -- some for COVID safety and others due to the Jan. 6 insurrection ... including the installment of metal detectors.

But, you gotta see what she said when we asked if she hoped she'd eventually be allowed to pack a pistol again at work. She insinuates she never stopped.

Boebert -- who recently had a display of firearms behind her during a Zoom meeting -- took one last parting shot ... labeling the Capitol and its still fenced-in protective zone, "Fort Pelosi."

For the record, she could have a gun with her while going to her Congressional office ... which is not in the Capitol. While there are metal detectors, members of Congress are generally allowed to go around them.

Lady Gaga's dogs were targeted by thieves Wednesday night ... thieves who shot her dog walker and stole 2 of her French Bulldogs ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ, and we're told Gaga is offering $500,000 for the return of her dogs, "no questions asked."

The dog walker had three of Gaga's Bulldogs out in Hollywood just before 10 PM when one gunman -- and possibly more -- came upon him. We don't know what was said, but the dog walker was shot and the gunman made off with 2 of the dogs, named Koji and Gustav.

There are reports there were only 2 Bulldogs being walked with one taken and one escaped that was later found, but our law enforcement sources tell us 3 dogs were being walked and 2 were taken by the gunman. We're told the 3rd dog had run away but was later recovered.

Gaga's been in Rome working on a new movie, her bodyguard was seen picking up the recovered Bulldog. Sources close to Gaga tell us she's extremely upset and is offering a half-a-million dollars to anyone who has her 2 dogs ... again, no questions asked.  We're told anyone who has the dogs can use this email -- KojiandGustav@gmail.com -- to retrieve the reward.

The dog walker was taken to the hospital and we're told he's expected to fully recover.

Law enforcement does not know if the target was Lady Gaga's dogs specifically. French Bulldogs are in demand and expensive, so our sources say it's possible the gunman did not know the dogs were owned by Lady Gaga.

The gunman is still on the loose.