Dimebag Darrell of Damageplan/Pantera Shot Dead

RIP

 

Wow, what a trip. I knew Darrell's Mom, and Pantera played at my daughters 16th Birthday party. I hung with Darrell a couple of times in Arlington, Tx.

 

Sounds like it was a disgruntled fan.....what a strange world we live in.

Condolences to the families of all killed and injured.

Thank God the cop was able to act quickly and stop further bloodshed.

That guy must have been completely insane.

 

This kind of crap is so senseless.
I'm so bummed right now after finding this out. Very sad news.
R.I.P. - DD

 

Rob, when you said "all-encompassing" I started to think about how this will effect other musicians. Heck, I have a gig here in Columbus on Saturday, and of course I'll be a little on edge. Plus, I'm sure the local news will be at clubs all weekend doing reports on "safety at Columbus clubs" and interviewing everybody with a pulse.

 

Yeah, and also settled down the issue on the spot. We wont hear from that crazy nutjob anymore. I wish that cop would have been in Manhattan 24 years ago.

 

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but I was listening to a Tampa radio show and a caller had said that in a late-November issue of Metal Hammer magazine, the cover had a headline that said Dimebag deserved to be beaten. Anyone else hear of this?

 

Yes, I've heard that Pantera members were blaming Dimebag for ruining the band and should be beaten. This makes a horrific tragedy, all the worse!

 

This is just horrific, last year the fire in a nightclub that killed almost 100 people and now this. I fear for anyone who goes out to nightclubs these days, what's next?

 

We used to get several letters a week from Pantera fans. These were usually oddball, goofy messages from fans wanting to know 1. How Pantera can possibly rock so hard and 2. If they could get some of their weed. They almost always came from prisons and more often than not included a hand drawn self portrait. Like I said, weird.

We got one last March that was particularly disturbing. It was written very strangely. The writer was obviously schizophrenic. He wrote over top over what he had previously written and then turned the paper 90 degrees and started to write perpendicular to the rest of the letter, right over top of everything. What little we could decipher was somewhat argumentative at points and jubilant at others.

Kate remembered it today and wants me to see if I still have it. She's a criminal lawyer and recognized the signs back when I first showed it to her. I sure hope it's not connected. We got so many strange letters you begin to ignore them.

 

My thoughts too. This could drastically change security measures for the future, a lot of bands are going to be freaked out.

 

If that letter's not from Nathan Gale, then we should be worried ... because that means there's another nutbag out there.

 

God forbid! I anticipate metal detectors at concert venues.

 

Bands especially in these smaller venues are very vulnerable to a psychotic person.

Just last month at a Heart concert in NYC that I attended, the same crazy half-naked guy climbed up on stage twice and stood near Ann Wilson. Luckily he meant no harm but really...twice!?

 

Its also interesting to note that Sheryl Crow's stalker...an obvious nut...was aquitted of stalking her last week. Bet she's not happy.

 

Chilling stuff, from WBNS-TV:

Witnesses say it was pandemonium inside the Alrosa Villa Wednesday night and flooded dispatchers with 911 calls.

Caller: I'm at the Alrosa Villa and there's a shooting. Somebody's shooting the band on the stage.

Dispatcher: Somebody's shooting the band on the stage?

Caller: On the stage, at the Alrosa Villa.

"Dimebag" Darrel Abbot, the lead guitarist of the group Damageplan would be the first to die.

Jeremy Spencer, 16, saw the gunman run on stage. He says, "He fired a full clip and he was reloading."

Another 911 call describes the chaos inside.

Caller: Does anybody have a description? Anybody see him with a gun? He's still shooting! He's still shooting!

Dispatcher: Do you see him anywhere?

Caller: The guy's still shooting! The guy's still shooting!

Five people would die, including 23-year old Nathan Bray, a fan of the band.

Witnesses say the gunman had a grudge against one of the band members.

One says, "When you see someone point a gun at one person only and unload five rounds into them, something is going on."

Dispatcher: How many shots were fired?

Caller: Well there's been multiple. I don't know.

Dispatcher: Did you see anybody with a gun?

Caller: Yes

Police say the gunman was Nathan Gale. He was on stage with a hostage, when Columbus police Officer James Niggemeyer quietly entered the lounge's back door.

The officer shot and killed Gale. In one witnesses words, "It appeared he was about to kill his hostage when the officer basically put an end to it."

Fans came throughout Thursday to pay tribute to the band, and offer their respects to the victims.

Police have identified 29-year old Erin Halk, a fan, as the fourth person killed in the shooting.

The fifth victim was Jeff Thompson, 40, whose last known address was in Texas.

 

Hearing news like this makes me cringe. I fear that more of this crap will happen in the future with wackos looking for their 5 minutes of fame... :thumbsdn:

 

I have been to so many concerts over the years, this is unbelievable that something like this could happen. What a senseless act.

 

Sicko stuff. Very sad.

I will never feel annoyed going through a metal detector at a concert again.

 

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=29847

 

I hate to even think about this. I've always loved Dime's playing and personality. He is the father "metal sound" that has been used from at least '92 to now.

 

Senseless stuff.

 

I was watching Fox News this afternoon because they were giving this story a lot of coverage and one of their reporters at the scen said that from information that they'd gathered from a few different sources say that it was vinnie, Darrell's brother, who was the hostage. They said the hostage was in a headlock and the gunman was spinning around to shoot when the cop fired his shot killing the gunman. It sounds like Vinnie might have had his life saved by only a second or two.

 

Unbelievable.

Looks like a crazed fan took Anselmo's declaration seriously.

 

I mentioned this incident to my Daughter and she corrected me on one thing. Pantera played at my Daughter's 13th birthday party, not her 16th like I had previously stated.