Dimebag Darrell (real name Darrell Abbott), guitarist for Damageplan, and best-known as the leader of the legendary Heavy Metal outfit Pantera, was one of five people killed during a bizarre shooting spree at a Columbus, Ohio, nightclub last night (12/8). He was 38.
According to Columbus Police public information officer Sherry Mercurio, Damageplan had just begun their first song in front of a couple hundred fans at the club, Alrosa Villa, when the gunman, identified by Mercurio as 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio, hopped onstage, allegedly made a comment about Pantera's breakup, and then began firing at close range into Darrell's body, shooting him numerous times before turning his gun on the crowd.
In addition to Dimebag, Nathan Bray, 23, Erin Halk, 29, and Jeff Thompson, 40, plus the gunman died in the firestorm of bullets.
Officer James Niggemeyer was in the area and heard the radio call about the shots fired shortly after 10 p.m., Mercurio confirmed, and then entered the club through the back door and confronted the gunman onstage. When the officer got to the stage, he noticed one victim down, plus the gunman holding a hostage by the neck. The officer immediately opened fire, killing Gale with a single shotgun blast.
In addition to the five killed, Mercurio said that two other club patrons were wounded and sent to an area hospital, but did not have any details on their conditions.
"If the officer hadn't acted when he did and how he did, we'd probably be looking at more dead, because this guy was actively shooting," remarked Columbus public information officer Sergeant Brent Mull.
"The ones that were inside and witnessed this ran for their lives and were in fear for their lives," Mull added. "They are victims too, and we want to take care of them."
Following the incident, police placed more than 200 patrons onto buses to interview them about the shooting.
Damageplan, whose other members included former Pantera drummer/Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul Abbott, singer Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla, released their debut album, New Found Power, this past February.
Later this afternoon, Atlantic Records released an official statement about last night's tragic events: "We are shocked and saddened by last night's horrible and senseless shootings. This is a tragic day for the music community, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and the surviving members of Damageplan and their crew. Dimebag Darrell was an exceptional musician and an extraordinary person. Along with his brother and bandmate, Vinnie Paul, he was a member of the Elektra/Atlantic family for the past 14 years, and he will be deeply missed. The bravery displayed by Damageplan, their crew, their fans, and the local police will never be forgotten."
Content on the band's Web site, which has been inundated with traffic following news of the shooting, has been taken down and replaced with a single picture Dimebag Darrell. Friends and fans in the Metal community devastated by the tragedy immediately took to the Web to share their grief.
"This is insane and this is beyond travesty," Killswitch Engage frontman and former Damageplan tour partner Howard Jones told MTV. "This is beyond anything I've ever heard. This shouldn't happen in or outside of the rock and metal community. He will be missed and mourned as a person, as a musician, and as a friend."
"When you think of '90s Heavy Metal or Hard Rock, Pantera is one of these seminal bands. They are quoted today as influences by many bands," MTV Executive VP Tom Calderone told AP. "Hard Rock has lost a legendary guitar player."
Source: http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=57345
According to Columbus Police public information officer Sherry Mercurio, Damageplan had just begun their first song in front of a couple hundred fans at the club, Alrosa Villa, when the gunman, identified by Mercurio as 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio, hopped onstage, allegedly made a comment about Pantera's breakup, and then began firing at close range into Darrell's body, shooting him numerous times before turning his gun on the crowd.
In addition to Dimebag, Nathan Bray, 23, Erin Halk, 29, and Jeff Thompson, 40, plus the gunman died in the firestorm of bullets.
Officer James Niggemeyer was in the area and heard the radio call about the shots fired shortly after 10 p.m., Mercurio confirmed, and then entered the club through the back door and confronted the gunman onstage. When the officer got to the stage, he noticed one victim down, plus the gunman holding a hostage by the neck. The officer immediately opened fire, killing Gale with a single shotgun blast.
In addition to the five killed, Mercurio said that two other club patrons were wounded and sent to an area hospital, but did not have any details on their conditions.
"If the officer hadn't acted when he did and how he did, we'd probably be looking at more dead, because this guy was actively shooting," remarked Columbus public information officer Sergeant Brent Mull.
"The ones that were inside and witnessed this ran for their lives and were in fear for their lives," Mull added. "They are victims too, and we want to take care of them."
Following the incident, police placed more than 200 patrons onto buses to interview them about the shooting.
Damageplan, whose other members included former Pantera drummer/Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul Abbott, singer Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla, released their debut album, New Found Power, this past February.
Later this afternoon, Atlantic Records released an official statement about last night's tragic events: "We are shocked and saddened by last night's horrible and senseless shootings. This is a tragic day for the music community, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and the surviving members of Damageplan and their crew. Dimebag Darrell was an exceptional musician and an extraordinary person. Along with his brother and bandmate, Vinnie Paul, he was a member of the Elektra/Atlantic family for the past 14 years, and he will be deeply missed. The bravery displayed by Damageplan, their crew, their fans, and the local police will never be forgotten."
Content on the band's Web site, which has been inundated with traffic following news of the shooting, has been taken down and replaced with a single picture Dimebag Darrell. Friends and fans in the Metal community devastated by the tragedy immediately took to the Web to share their grief.
"This is insane and this is beyond travesty," Killswitch Engage frontman and former Damageplan tour partner Howard Jones told MTV. "This is beyond anything I've ever heard. This shouldn't happen in or outside of the rock and metal community. He will be missed and mourned as a person, as a musician, and as a friend."
"When you think of '90s Heavy Metal or Hard Rock, Pantera is one of these seminal bands. They are quoted today as influences by many bands," MTV Executive VP Tom Calderone told AP. "Hard Rock has lost a legendary guitar player."
Source: http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=57345
