Weapons & Guns

Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, has resigned from the force, effective immediately.

Potter wrote a letter Tuesday to Mayor Mike Elliott, Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards and Police Chief Tim Gannon ... saying, "I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately."

Mayor Elliott announced Chief Gannon is also stepping down.

The resignations come following the second night of unrest in Minnesota that included looting, clashes with police and arrests. As we reported, citizens took to the streets Monday night in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center ... gathering outside the police station to demand justice.

There had been a 7 PM curfew set in place but the streets remained flooded with protesters. Cops ultimately dispersed the crowd with flash bombs and chemical agents. Protesters also got violent ... launching objects at cops.

The protests came after 20-year-old Wright was shot and killed by Potter ... whose body cam footage shows her yelling "Taser" as she clearly was holding her handgun. She fired one round that ultimately killed Wright. You can also hear Potter on body cam footage saying, "S**t, I just shot him."

The family of Daunte Wright -- the 20-year-old Black man killed by police near Minneapolis -- just delivered impassioned, heartbreaking words about his fatal shooting ... and their pain is palpable.

Several of Daunte's loved ones spoke at the news conference outside the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, including his mother, Katie ... who told the devastating story of her final phone call with her son as he was dealing with the police in what would turn out to be a deadly traffic stop.

Chyna Whitaker, the mother of Daunte's young son, spoke on how Daunte didn't live to see their child's second birthday ... saying the police stole her son's dad from him.

Other family members, including Daunte's grandmother, cousin and aunt, also delivered emotional, powerful words about their tragic loss.

George Floyd's family was also on hand to lend love and support to the Wright family, and along with everyone else ... called for justice in the case. Daunte's aunt also pointed out the 2 families have another connection -- she says Floyd's girlfriend used to be one of Wright's teachers.

Even a relative of Emmett Till spoke, saying ... "The past is not past until justice is served."

The news conference took place outside the courthouse where former Minneapolis PD officer Derek Chauvin is currently on trial after being charged with murdering Floyd during his arrest on May 25, 2020.

Wright was fatally shot on Sunday by a cop in Brooklyn Center -- a Minneapolis suburb about 10 miles from the courthouse where Chauvin's standing trial.

Ben Crump joined "TMZ Live" to discuss the tragedy, which he calls the latest example of implicit bias against people of color by police. Crump points to the alleged discrepancies in why Wright was pulled over in the first place, and says the incident never should have escalated to a violent confrontation.

Crump adds that President Biden's comments about rioting in wake of Wright's killing are fair, but says the Prez needs to also rebuke the unarmed killings of Black men by police in America.

As we reported ... body cam footage of the incident shows the officer, Kim Potter -- a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center PD -- shot Wright during his struggle with the police. After the shot, you can hear her exclaim, "Holy s**t, I just shot him."

Police Chief Tim Gannon claims Potter meant to use her Taser, but accidentally discharged her gun instead. Wright died from the gunshot wound.

Protests and riots broke out in Minnesota just 10 miles from where Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd ... following the killing of another Black man by police.

20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb. Wright died as cops were trying to take him into custody during a traffic stop after learning he had outstanding warrants.

According to reports ... Wright was shot after getting back into his vehicle and trying to flee. He drove several blocks before crashing to a stop. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon says medical workers attempted life-saving measures, but he died at the scene.

Shortly after Wright's death, protesters gathered and marched to the police department, which led to what the city's mayor called "growing civil unrest" ... resulting in the National Guard deployment.

It's unclear what effect Wright's death and subsequent protests could have on Chauvin's trial -- which begins its 11th day just miles away -- but it's worth noting the jury is NOT sequestered, so will be exposed to all this news ... and there are only 2 alternates.

Clashes between demonstrators and police continued until the late hours, and at one point it seemed law enforcement released smoke canisters to disperse the crowd.

The woman caught on video pointing a gun out of her car window, then firing it out of her sunroof at a busy L.A. intersection has been charged with 3 felonies ... and she's still sitting in jail.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Ashley Tamika Greenwade's been hit with one count of assault with a firearm for the April 6 incident, along with one count of discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, and one count of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle that's not registered to her.

We're told the first charge is due to Greenwade allegedly aiming her weapon at a person from her vehicle before she fired it up in the air.

Greenwade is still in police custody. She's being held on $35,000 bail ... and is facing up to 4 years behind bars.

As we reported ... the surreal road rage scene went down last week. The suspect was recorded screaming at someone off-camera before whipping out a handgun and loading it.

As she pointed it, she asked .... "Anybody wanna die now? Anybody???" Then, she unloaded several shots straight up through her sunroof.

New Mexico State Police are revealing the harrowing moment Officer Darian Jarrott was disgustingly gunned down in cold blood when he pulled over a drug dealer armed with an assault weapon.

NM cops just released this dashcam and bodycam video from Officer Jarrott ... he had pulled over Omar Felix Cueva on Feb. 4 on the I-10 outside Las Cruces. Jarrott told Cueva he was being stopped because his window tint was too dark. Cueva was initially cooperative, but the stop took an ugly turn when Jarrott asked Cueva if he had any firearms.

Jarrott apparently saw a weapon inside Cueva's truck as he was stepping out of the vehicle, and asked Cueva if he could take it off him ... as he put it, "for my safety?" Those would be one of Jarrott's last words. As Cueva stepped out of the truck, Jarrott couldn't see him lift an AR-15-style rifle ... which he unloaded at the officer as they got to the back of the truck.

You hear Jarrott yell, "Oh, s**t!" as the bullets started flying. Cops say Jarrott went down immediately, and Cueva ran over to him and fired several more rounds at point-blank range before fleeing the scene.

While a Dept. of Homeland Security officer arrived and tried to save Jarrott's life, a 40-mile pursuit of Cueva was just beginning. Police eventually tracked him down on the highway, using a PIT maneuver to spin his truck.

Cueva initiated an all-out gun battle with the cops and was killed in the hail of return fire. Las Cruces PD officer Adrian De La Garza was injured in the shootout but survived after treatment at a hospital.

Tim Stark -- famous for being one of the animal park staffers on 'Tiger King' -- threatened to take his own life after taking a loss in court ... and now police are involved.

Here's the deal ... Tim went on Facebook Live Wednesday night after an Indiana judge banned him from owning animals, and made several threats against himself and anyone coming to his property.

As you can see in the video, Tim shows what appears to be a syringe attached to his arm, which he claims is filled with drugs used for euthanasia.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police are aware of the video and they contacted Tim Thursday to investigate the incident. At this point, they say he is fine, but add ... they'll continue monitoring his Facebook for any possible criminal activity.

The suicide threats are alarming and so is this -- law enforcement tells us Tim threatened to potentially shoot anyone who comes to his home. Cops have not yet made physical contact with him.

The man who slaughtered 5 people Wednesday -- including 2 children -- at a home in South Carolina has been identified as former NFL player Phillip Adams, according to reports.

Officials believe 32-year-old Adams -- a 7th-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft -- stormed a home in Rock Hill, SC on Wednesday afternoon and shot 5 people to death.

The victims have been identified as 70-year-old Dr. Robert Lesslie, his 69-year-old wife, Barbara Lesslie -- and their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie.

A 5th victim, 38-year-old James Lewis, was working at the home when the gunman opened fire, killing him.

A 6th person was shot -- but that person survived and is being treated at a nearby hospital.

A furious manhunt was underway for the gunman.

But, the case took another dark twist on Thursday morning ... when sources say officials found the body of Phillip Adams, who appeared to have taken his own life around midnight Thursday morning, by way of gunshot.

According to the reports, there was a prior connection between Adams and the victims -- the football player's parents live in the area and Phillip had reportedly been previously treated by Dr. Robert Lesslie.

Adams was a star defensive back at South Carolina State in the late 2000s before being drafted by the 49ers in 2010.

He bounced around to the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders -- playing in 52 NFL games before his NFL career ended following the 2013 season.

A woman waiting to merge into a busy L.A. intersection lost her patience in a hurry -- she pointed a gun out the window, threatened to kill people ... and fired.

Check out this surreal scene that went down Tuesday, when this woman appeared to be held up at a stop sign at what we're told was Fairfax Ave. and Olympic Blvd. -- an intersection that sees a lot of rush hour traffic, and this was recorded at 5:30 PM PT.

The video starts as the woman seems to be screaming at someone off-camera with her window rolled down -- and before long, she whips out a handgun, which looks like a revolver, and loads it.

She points the firearm and then asks an ominous question ... "Anybody wanna die now? Anybody???" The woman appears to point the gun at different cars passing in front of her ... it makes for a terrifying scene. Even scarier is what she did next -- unload a round straight-up through her sunroof.

Luckily, it doesn’t look like she hit anyone or any cars -- and law enforcement sources tell us cops eventually caught up to her and were able to detain her without further incident.

Kodak Black was being targeted by hitmen when his security guard was shot in the leg ... at least according to cops, who are reviewing threats made against him before the shooting.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Monday morning's shooting down in Florida appears to be a hit and not just an armed robbery. We're told police are aware of a series of online threats to Kodak's life, and cops are looking into them.

We’re told cops are specifically reviewing threatening comments apparently made by music producer Southside during an Instagram Live Sunday, seemingly in response to Kodak's IG Live mention of Southside's girlfriend, City Girls rapper Yung Miami.

However, our law enforcement sources tell us they have no named suspects in the shooting right now ... and the investigation remains open and ongoing.

As we reported ... Kodak and his entourage were ambushed around 3 AM Monday outside a fast food joint in Tallahassee, resulting in a serious gunshot wound for one of his security guards, with law enforcement saying the shooter opened fire from a car that was tailing Kodak after he left a nightclub.

The man who rammed into Capitol police and attempted to slice them with a knife, bought that weapon just hours before the fatal incident ... suggesting he premeditated the whole attack.

TMZ has obtained shots of Noah Green in a D.C. kitchen appliance store 90 minutes before authorities say he drove his car into a barricade at the Capitol last week and proceeded to get shot and killed after getting out to attack officers with a knife.

Green was in District Cutlery -- about a 10-minute drive from the Capitol -- and he purchased the blade you see here. We're told it's a Kurosaki Shizuku Sujihiki 270mm SG2 knife, and it retails for about $300.

You can see the knife he purchased at the store looks identical to the one police recovered at the scene after Green was gunned down, and a Capitol Police officer was killed.

Eyewitnesses say Green was calm and collected during his purchase, and didn't seem to raise any red flags to bystanders.

Step aside, Cinnamon Toast Crunch ... Flamin' Hot Cheetos has raised a man's shrimp tails and rat poo claims with a bullet ... at least that's what a father in Montana's claiming.

Bow Horn Weasel of Elmo, Montana tells TMZ ... he bought the bag of chips Saturday at a local convenience store and his 6-year-old son broke it open Easter Sunday for a lil spicy chow down.

We're told the boy found the bullet at the bottom of the bag after devouring the chips. The bullet appears to have Hot Cheetos' red coating on it. Bow scoffs at the doubters, saying a bullet didn't just drop out of the sky into the bag ... and don't even get him started with people who think the whole thing is made up.

Bow says he reached out to Frito-Lay on Facebook and also fired off an email. He claims it wasn't long before a company rep reached out with a specialist who told Bow they're taking the matter seriously. Bow says Frito-Lay's sending him a kit for some sort of testing.

Bow says he's not looking for compensation. He just wants Frito-Lay to take a hard look so this thing doesn't ever happen again.

We've reached out to PepsiCo, Frito-Lay's parent company ... so far no word back.

Kodak Black and his entourage were ambushed outside a fast food joint in Florida, and the shooting left one of his security guards in serious condition ... according to police.

Gunfire erupted around 3 AM Monday morning in the parking lot of a McDonald's in Tallahassee. Law enforcement tells us the shooter opened fire from a car that was tailing Kodak and co.

Law enforcement sources say the rapper's entourage was being followed by several cars attempting to cut them off as they left a nightclub, and Kodak's camp pulled into the McDonald's and blocked the entrance with a car while KB went inside to pick up an order.

We’re told one of the cars tailing Kodak went to the McDonald's, left and then came back ... and that's when people inside the vehicle started shooting.

Kodak's security guard was shot in the leg and rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries, police say, while Kodak was whisked away in an armored car and was unharmed.

Kodak was in town headlining a Sunday music festival, Cultur3 Fest, and the security guard is reportedly undergoing surgery after one of the shots apparently hit an artery.

This is an interesting traffic stop, where a 20-year-old guy was pulled over by a cop, ordered out of his car, handcuffed with a gun pointed at his head ... sounds outrageous, but there's a pretty good explanation.

Noah West was driving in Summerville, South Carolina without his headlights on at around 10:30 PM when the cop spotted him and pulled him over.

The first part of the video seems troublesome ... why treat a guy with a minor infraction like a hardened criminal? The officer even calls it a "felony traffic stop."

Here's the thing ... there was a violent incident that went down nearby, where someone shot up a house and cops were on the hunt for the perp. The cop saw a guy driving without lights in the dark and that was enough to arouse suspicion.

The officer is firm but polite as he asked the driver if he was carrying any weapons. The cop explained the situation to the driver and his mom, who was nearby, asking her, "You good with that?" She said she was not, but seemed to understand.

Noah said afterward, "I feared for my life. I stayed calm and was so polite to the police."  The officer said it was a case of someone being at "the wrong place at the wrong time," telling Noah, "sorry to scare you, it happens."

The U.S. Capitol is in lockdown mode after someone in a car tried ramming a security barrier ... and hit 2 U.S. Capitol Police Officers.

Capitol Police issued an alert Friday telling people inside the complex to remain indoors due to an "external security threat" that required a massive police presence ... including the landing of a helicopter on the east side of the Capitol.

USCP said it responded to the north barricade vehicle access point along Independence Ave. "for reports someone rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers." The suspect is in custody. The officers, along with the suspect, were transported to a hospital.

Neither the House nor the Senate was in session at the time of the incident and President Biden had left Washington earlier in the day for Camp David. The alert instructed people inside the Capitol to "stay away from exterior windows, doors" and "if outside, seek cover."

According to reports ... Capitol Police opened fire when the suspect attempted to ram the car through the barriers. It's unclear if the suspect was hit but one of the officers is reportedly in critical condition.

Story developing ...

The alleged gunman who killed 4 people, including a child, in America's latest tragic mass shooting was apprehended by several cops after getting shot ... and the dramatic moment was caught on video.

Witnesses across the street from the office building in Orange, CA -- where the suspect allegedly opened fire around 5:30 PM Wednesday -- were recording as police officers swarmed and dragged the alleged shooter out.

The suspect sustained a gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital, though it's unclear if the wound was self-inflicted or at the hand of a responding officer.

In the video, the witnesses describe seeing a lot of blood and assume the suspect is dead. As the suspect's apprehended, it appears one officer kicks away a firearm.

Four people were killed in the shooting, including a child, and a fifth was critically injured. The identities of the victims have not been released. The suspect is also reportedly in critical condition.

The complex where the shooting went down houses multiple businesses, including an insurance company and a counseling center.

This is the 20th mass shooting in the U.S. since the Atlanta area spa attacks just 2 weeks ago, in which 8 people were killed.

Schoolchildren across America are being scarred for life because of gun violence, but there are ways to fix the problem ... so says author John Woodrow Cox.

John hopped on "TMZ Live" Wednesday for a sobering conversation about the impact of guns on our nation's youth ... something he's as passionate about as he is knowledgeable.

John's new book -- "Children Under Fire: An American Crisis" -- chronicles the scope of the problem. For example, 4 million students were impacted by school lockdowns in one year, and these are not drills ... they're actually incidents involving guns on campus.

John says these lockdowns can really mess with kids' heads ... with many thinking they were going to die. He says he's poured over tons of text messages by children to their parents saying goodbye because they thought they were living their final moments.

While mass shootings subsided during coronavirus lockdowns, John points out there were two -- one in Colorado and another in Georgia -- as soon as restrictions were relaxed.