Weapons & Guns

Alec Baldwin is done laying low after the fatal shooting on the "Rust" movie set -- in fact, he put himself front and center as a master of ceremony.

Making his first appearance since the accidental death of cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, in October ... Alec was at the podium Thursday night in NYC for the Ripple of Hope Award Gala -- a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights charity.

Alec was joined by his wife Hilaria, and feeling lighthearted enough to offer some humor -- he opened the night saying, "Thank you for all coming out tonight. It's great to be together in person. It's great to be with everyone. My wife and I have six kids, anything to get out of the house for 30 minutes.”

The event came a week after Alec's first interview about shooting Halyna aired, and RFK's daughter Kerry Kennedy thanked the actor for being there ... acknowledging he's still coping with tragedy. She said, "He's there in good times and bad, in your good times and bad and his good times and bad, he always shows up. I'm so proud."

During the ABC interview, Baldwin said he didn't feel guilt or responsibility for Halyna's death, claiming the blame lays solely with whoever brought live ammunition to the movie set.

Slim 400 was the victim of what appears to be an ambush attack as he sat in a driveway ... only to be surprised and shot at multiple times.

Law enforcement sources confirm a video floating around online is the Slim 400 attack. You see the suspect walk up the driveway, gun in hand, and approach the driver's side of the vehicle, where Slim was seated.

It's unclear exactly what happens next, but you see a flash and hear a gun go off and Slim lunge at the suspect. Gunshots continue to go off as the rapper continues to move toward the street with the gunman.

As we reported, Inglewood PD responded to a call of shots fired Wednesday night, and discovered Slim in bad shape in a driveway. We're told he was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Slim 400 -- an up-and-coming rapper in the California hip-hop scene -- has been shot and killed in L.A. ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Slim was gunned down Wednesday night in Inglewood. It's currently unclear what led to the shooting and how many suspects were involved.

Born to military parents in Germany, Slim moved back to Los Angeles as a young child and was raised in Compton. The rapper was later discovered and signed by the now nonexistent Pu$haz Ink music label -- the same one made popular by YG and DJ Mustard.

Slim narrowly escaped death back in the summer of 2019 when he was shot 9 times in L.A. Slim claimed he was ambushed in the attack while visiting family in Compton.

Slim 400 was just 33.

RIP

Jacqueline Avant's family believes she was awake at home when an intruder shot and killed her, as Clarence was nearby in the couple's bedroom ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the situation tell us Clarence was asleep during the break-in last week at their Trousdale Estates home, but his wife was already up just after 2 AM -- as she typically is -- in another room.

We're told she and the suspect unexpectedly came face-to-face ... the family believes they startled each other and that's when he opened fire.

Our sources tell us security was patrolling the front of the house and the suspect appears to have entered from the side yard.

We're told a guard heard a gunshot from inside, raced over and then the suspect fired at him too ... before fleeing the scene.

As we reported ... cops took a man named Aariel Maynor into custody about an hour after the crime, and say he's the guy responsible for killing Jacqueline. They allege he was attempting yet another burglary in the Hollywood Hills, where he apparently shot himself in the foot.

The police say he's the sole perpetrator in the Avant killing, and they also say he used an AR-15 style weapon.

Maynor has since been charged with murder, attempted murder, felony with a firearm as well as 2 counts of residential burglary with a person present ... all in connection to the Avant shooting. We're told he's scheduled to have surgery on his foot Wednesday, so he won't be arraigned until after that.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the lead armorer on the set of "Rust" has one weapons specialist and Hollywood veteran on her side -- it's her dad, who is backing his daughter's training and claiming she was sabotaged.

Thell Reed, whose career in movies spans several decades says Hannah was raised around guns, and learned gun safety from an early age. Reed says his daughter complained she had to carry both armorer and prop duties on the movie, and it was because she was doing prop duties that she was unable to be inside the church set when Halyna Hutchins was killed.

Thell told "Good Morning America" Tuesday he believes if Hannah was inside the church during the fatal scene, she would've checked the gun's chamber one more time and discovered the live round, potentially saving Hutchins' life.

What's more, Thell echoes the same message Hannah's attorneys have previously claimed ... believing Hannah was somehow sabotaged on set with the live ammo. Though, he doesn't really get into how or why that might've happened.

Of course, it was just last week when Alec Baldwin claimed he never pulled the trigger on the revolver that killed Hutchins. Alec claims he cocked the hammer back and when he released it, the gun went off.

Ethan Crumbley -- the accused Oxford killer -- was involved in a bizarre accident a year before he shot and killed 4 of his fellow students ... and it seems something was clearly wrong with him.

This video shows then 14-year-old Crumbley in a diner where he worked back in September 2020. Crumbley is walking in a work area and you see him disoriented and wobbly before he collapses, hitting his head on a cabinet. In the video, first obtained by the Daily Mail, he struggles to get up before someone comes over and helps.

The diner's owner says someone on the staff called his parents and sent him home. His mom blamed it on Ethan not eating that day. But the owner has her doubts, saying she thinks it might've been related to his medications.

There's also this ... the diner owner claims Ethan's older brother, Eli, was caught smoking weed on the job -- he also worked at the diner -- and when someone on the staff threatened to call his parents, Eli allegedly responded, "Where do you think I got it from?"

Crumbley was taken into custody and charged in connection with the shooting. He's facing 24 counts total, including 4 counts of first-degree murder and terrorism causing death.

Evander Kane just got a judge to order his estranged wife, Anna Kane, to stay the hell away from him ... after he said he's "afraid" of her following her gun video post last week.

It's all spelled out in new court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which Evander says he's fearful Anna might hurt him, his girlfriend, Mara Teigen, and his daughter in the wake of her recent social media activity.

As we previously reported, Anna posted a video of Evander with a gun on Instagram last Wednesday, saying it showed him recklessly pointing it at her in 2020.

In the vid's caption, Anna claimed the firearm was loaded ... and called Evander a "psycho path."

The San Jose Sharks star, though, said in the docs the gun was absolutely not loaded -- adding that he had only had it in his hand because he and Anna were doing a photo shoot with it.

Evander said in the docs he has the pictures of the two with the weapon that prove it was just a photo shoot.

Evander claims the social media post -- as well as other things Anna put on her Instagram last week -- was such a blatant attempt to hurt him, he's straight-up scared of her now.

The judge granted his request for a temporary restraining order, but Evander is now asking for another order that keeps Anna at least 300 yards away from him for the next three years.

A hearing on the matter has been set for Jan. 13, 2022.

Lil Wayne allegedly pulled an assault rifle on one of his own bodyguards during a dispute at his home, and now police are looking into the incident.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... one of the rapper's guards told cops he and Wayne got into a fight at Weezy's Hidden Hills, CA home, and cops say they were told the altercation escalated to physical violence and a brandished firearm.

We're told the guard claims Wayne told him to get outta the house after the initial dispute, but the guard went to the bathroom first and he claims that's when Wayne dramatically escalated things.

We've spoken with a source close to Wayne who strongly denies the incident even happened ... and tell us Wayne doesn't even have a gun.

That's not however, what the guard told cops ... our sources say the guard claimed Lil Wayne pulled out an AR-15 ... and that's when the guard booked it out of the house to the gated community's guard shack, where he called police.

We're told cops went to Weezy's place to get his side of the story, but he was already gone. The guard told police the fight started with Wayne accusing him of taking photos and leaking them to the media.

Other law enforcement sources involved in the case tell TMZ ... cops have issues with the guard's story, and they say he did not have any marks on his body or injuries from the alleged physical confrontation.

We're told the guard also does not want to press charges against Wayne -- and while police have doubts about some of the allegations, they will nevertheless investigate.

The fallout from the Oxford High School shooting was at the forefront of the Detroit Lions' collective minds Sunday -- which made for an emotional moment after their big win.

The Lions won their first game of the season on Sunday in a thriller of a match against the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to this, their record was 0-10-1, meaning they hadn't won a single game all season.

Turns out, their victory meant more than just what appeared on paper ... and the team's QB, Jared Goff, made that clear in the post-game interview  -- making sure to point out that the game was dedicated to those affected by the deadly tragedy ... which claimed 4 lives.

Check it out ... he gets pretty emotional talking about what happened this week, saying sometimes certain moments are bigger than just sports ... and this was one of them.

The Lions coach, Dan Campbell, echoed that with his own remarks ... bestowing the game ball to the township of Oxford, and reading off the names of the deceased, among others.

The parents of a 15-year-old Michigan student who killed 4 students in a school shooting have been arrested after hiding out in a warehouse, and they have just been arraigned on 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were nabbed after a tipster contacted police, saying their SUV was in a parking lot connected to a warehouse. Police say they appeared "very distressed" during their arrest. The police chief says they were wearing hoodies and seemed "just very upset."

The Crumbleys have been charged with 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter -- one count each for the 4 students who were murdered -- and each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

The charges are unusual and possibly even unprecedented. Authorities say the parents knew their son, Ethan Crumbley, had serious mental health issues and yet they bought him a gun just days before he shot up his school. School officials were so concerned about the boy they brought him in along with his parents just before the shooting, not knowing he had the gun in his backpack.

Ethan and his father went to a gun store the day after Thanksgiving and bought the 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun, which Ethan called on social media, "My new beauty."

The Monday following Thanksgiving, a teacher saw Ethan looking up information online about ammunition, told his mother but she did not appear alarmed. In fact, she texted her son, "LOL, I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught." The next day he shot 4 of his Oxford High School classmates to death.

Meagan Good wants to become a gun owner ... and while she says she didn't always feel that way, the recent rise of home invasions in Los Angeles changed her mind.

Meagan explained her change of heart in tonight's interview with Charlamagne Tha God on his Comedy Central show "Tha God's Honest Truth" ... saying she would feel more comfortable with a gun after seeing home invasions on the rise in Hollywood.

The actress says she used to think she didn't need a gun at home because there wouldn't be time to grab the weapon if a situation arose ... but now she says she wants to be able to at least have the option.

While Meagan says she doesn't want to shoot or kill any potential home invaders ... she says she is willing to defend herself with a gun.

Meagan's fears are real.

TMZ broke the story ... Clarence Avant's wife, Jackie, was shot and killed inside the couple's Beverly Hills home Wednesday morning after at least one suspect made it inside during a home invasion robbery.

These cases are part of an alarming trend ... in the days before Halloween, Dorit Kemsley had 3 men (shown above) storm into her bedroom to threaten her life before fleeing with six-figures worth of valuables.

It's evening happening outside of homes ... Terrence J told cops last month he was pulling into his driveway when another car pulled up and the men inside ordered him out of his car, firing shots and giving chase when he refused their commands and drove off.

Bottom line for Meagan ... she's embracing the 2nd Amendment.

Alec Baldwin's claim he's not responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death is not echoed by the woman leading the "Rust" shooting investigation -- instead, she says Baldwin, and several others, could still be charged for their roles in the tragedy.

During his sit-down with George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said he didn't feel guilt over what went down. As he put it, "Someone is responsible for what happened and I can't say who that is, but I know it's not me."

Well, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies isn't ready to clear his name, criminally, just yet. She tells TMZ ... "Everyone involved in the handling and use of firearms on the set had a duty to behave in a manner such that the safety of others was protected, and it appears that certain actions and inactions contributed to this outcome."

Her Office, along with the Sheriff's Dept., hasn't completed their probe yet ... and she's making it clear no decisions have been made about exactly who could be charged. She says, "Once I have had the opportunity to review the complete investigation, certain individuals may be criminally culpable for his/her actions and/or inactions on the set of Rust."

And, there's this ... Baldwin's explanation for how he fired the fatal shot isn't holding water with weapons expert Steve Wolf, who says the "no trigger" theory IS possible -- but there were several other mistakes made on the set.

Steve's been working with munitions and props for TV and film for decades, so he was particularly interested in Baldwin's claim that the replica antique revolver he was holding fired without him pulling the trigger.

Steve was on Friday's "TMZ Live" when he held up a similar handgun and demonstrated exactly what Baldwin described. He pulled back the hammer on the weapon, but unlike Alec claimed ... Steve says it's just not possible for the hammer to strike and fire a bullet without the trigger getting engaged. Not normally, anyway.

He admitted there are 2 possible exceptions -- first, there could have been a mechanical flaw ... and the other possibility has to do with how the weapon was manufactured.

The Colt .45 Baldwin was using is a replica of an 1873 revolver, and it could have been made without a safety feature that is standard on such weapons now, but wasn't back in the 19th century.

Oxford High football player Tate Myre -- who died heroically attempting to stop the tragic school shooting -- will be remembered when #2 Michigan takes the field in the Big Ten Championship this weekend ... with the team wearing a jersey patch in his honor.

Michigan made the announcement on Thursday ... saying, "Our uniforms will feature a special logo during Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game."

Myre's initials and jersey number will be featured on the patch ... as well as a heart for each of the four victims of the tragedy.

"The shape is of Oxford's 'Block O', meant to honor all victims, survivors, and community members," the team added.

"I was told that everybody in that school was running one way, and Tate was running the other way," Myre's football and wrestling coach Ross Wingert told the Detroit Free Press.

"I know Tate chose to do what he thought was right and he made the ultimate sacrifice."

The 16-year-old had interest in playing at the next level -- just days before the tragedy, Myre was at the University of Toledo football game as a potential recruit.

There's currently a petition to rename the Oxford football stadium in his name, which has reached over 202,000 signatures.

"We are proud to represent that state of Michigan and all of its communities," the team said.

Oxford H.S. is an hour north of UM. The Wolverines will face #15 Iowa in Indianapolis on Saturday for the Big Ten title.

Alec Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger on the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and followed her instructions to point the gun at her, not knowing there was live ammunition in the chamber.

Baldwin says he pointed the gun at her as directed ... cocked it and let go of the hammer and that's when the gun went off. He says he never touched the trigger. Assistant Director Dave Halls backed Baldwin up and says Baldwin never had his finger on the trigger.

Baldwin says the only issue for him is how live ammunition got into the chamber of the gun. He says he was told it was an "empty gun" -- meaning only dummy bullets.

When the gun fired and Halyna fell to the ground, Baldwin says he didn't know for 45 minutes to an hour she was hit by a live round. He thought maybe Halyna got hit by wadding typically found in blanks.

Baldwin felt people waited too long to get her to a hospital. A helicopter finally came and took her to a hospital.

The Sheriff eventually told Baldwin Halyna had died. The photos of Baldwin outside on the phone are when he called his wife to tell her what happened.

Baldwin says George Clooney didn't help the situation by commenting that he always checked a gun that he handled on set. Baldwin was clearly annoyed at Clooney. He says he's always relied on the experts -- like the armorer -- on the set that a gun was safe to handle.

Baldwin does not believe the live ammo on the set was an act of sabotage ... something claimed by the lawyer for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. He says this was an accident.

Baldwin says he hates that Reed and Halls have been villainized unfairly, he believes.

He also doesn't discount his brother Daniel -- who told TMZ he believed Baldwin was targeted for his political beliefs. He mentions Donald Trump, who went after Baldwin.

Baldwin said he was not a nuts-and-bolts producer who made hiring decisions ... rather, he says he was a "creative producer" -- meaning his role was more about content. This is significant ... given the allegations, Reed was way too inexperienced to be an armorer and Halls had safety issues on previous sets.

He says he was never told by the crew they had safety concerns ... he says the complaints were along the lines of grousing they wanted better hotels.

Billy Dee Williams thinks America is in one of its darkest periods ever ... referencing the latest act of violence against his dear friends.

We got Billy Dee Thursday in WeHo and asked about the murder this week of Jacqueline Avant, wife of music legend Clarence Avant.

Billy Dee is clearly upset, saying, "There's a dark energy that's permeating our lives right now.  I call it Lucifer."

The legendary actor seems to think this is a tipping point, wondering what's going on in America with all the violence and insanity?"

Billy Dee is fatalistic about his own safety in a city -- Los Angeles -- that is becoming treacherous on so many levels.

The man who allegedly killed Jacqueline Avant was caught in a backyard roughly an hour after shooting the 81-year-old ... and video shows him handcuffed to a wheelchair after being taken into custody.

According to cops, Aariel Maynor traveled from Beverly Hills to the Hollywood Hills after his attack on the Avant home. He attempted to break into another home in the Hills, and in the process somehow shot himself in the foot with an AR-15.

You can see in new video, Maynor was tended to by paramedics, and handcuffed to a wheelchair while he was loaded into an ambulance. Maynor appears to be quite chatty with first responders, though it's unclear exactly what he was saying.

His right foot -- presumably the one he shot -- is bandaged.

TMZ broke the story, Maynor was arrested in connection to Avant's case ... cops say neighborhood surveillance helped them connect him from the crime in Hollywood to the murder at the Avant home.