"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot and killed on stage at a concert in Columbus,Ohio last night.
I first met Darrell and the other members of Pantera back in 1993. I worked for a local radio station and enjoyed all the perks of meeting famous musicians. I spent many nights at The Basement, Dallas City Limits and other clubs where Pantera started out. I became good friends with Darrell and brother Vinnie.
Words cannot express the loss I am feeling. My heart goes out to Rita and Vinnie and the rest of the Abbott family.
Darrell was a living legend. He lived every day of his life to the fullest.He loved what he did and it showed. No matter how big the crowd, he could always find you and fling a guitar pick your way.
"keep rippin"
Full Version: Sad day in Rock & Roll
I agree, raw. It's a terrible loss! I'm still amazed the incident even happened. In my cognitive years, this is the 3rd loss for my generation. Stevie Ray Vaughn and Kurt Cobain are the others. This is not to diminish the other lives lost in the industry but those were the saddest, in my opinion.
Our greatest sympathy to the Abbott family and to the families of the other victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.
Our greatest sympathy to the Abbott family and to the families of the other victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.
I can not say it any better then
Never heard of him. Not much into rock music. Some of its bad......
Sad that he died!
Sad that he died!
Yes it is a sad and tragic day for family, fans and society in general to see that individuals are choosing to travel a path in life where they "snuff" out the life of another human being.
We just remembered the loss of life of a great writer and musician on December 8, 2004; this descent into lunacy commenced for individuals of my generation at the loss of John Lennon.
And indeed this man was the epitome of peace, in what he practiced and what he wrote.
Peace, is the precious commodity that this festive season espouses.
Indeed I look to future generations to be our "light" to practice and teach greater respect for one another and halt aggressive actions of this nefarious nature; this would truly make the world a better place.
We just remembered the loss of life of a great writer and musician on December 8, 2004; this descent into lunacy commenced for individuals of my generation at the loss of John Lennon.
And indeed this man was the epitome of peace, in what he practiced and what he wrote.
Peace, is the precious commodity that this festive season espouses.
Indeed I look to future generations to be our "light" to practice and teach greater respect for one another and halt aggressive actions of this nefarious nature; this would truly make the world a better place.
I'm very sorry to hear of this. A sad day indeed. 
WHY?
Why did it happen?
Is the murderer behind bars?
Tragic, and upsetting to musicians & those who love music everywhere.
Hang in there raw.
WHY?
Why did it happen?
Is the murderer behind bars?
Tragic, and upsetting to musicians & those who love music everywhere.
Hang in there raw.
OMG I am at a loss for words..... So sorry Raw.
Here is what I found.
Dimebag Darrell: 1966-2004
Dimebag Darrell, guitarist for Damageplan and Pantera, was killed during a shooting spree at a Columbus, Ohio, nightclub Wednesday night. He was 38.
Darrell, real name Darrell Abbott,was among the five people killed during the incident. Also dead are the gunman, 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio; Damageplan bodyguard Jeff Thompson, 40; fan Nathan Bray, 23; and Erin Halk, 29, who worked at the club. Gale also wounded three people.
Damageplan had just begun their first song in front of approximately 250 people at Alrosa Villa when the gunman jumped onstage, made a comment about Pantera, and began firing at close range into Darrell's body, shooting him several times before opening fire on the crowd.
A patrol officer nearby, James Niggemeyer, heard the call of shots fired at 10:18 p.m. and by 10:20 p.m. had snuck inside the club through a back door, according to public information officer Sergeant Brent Mull. After entering, Niggemeyer, who had no backup, confronted the gunman onstage, where he observed one victim and Gale holding a hostage by the neck.
"The officer was able to strategically gun this guy down before he was able to kill his hostage, and it appeared that he was about to kill his hostage," Mull said at a press conference Thursday (December 9). "The suspect had the hostage in a headlock situation and had his firearm out shooting, and it's believed he was about to take his gun to the hostage."
But the hostage wriggled out of the way slightly, Mull said, and the officer was able to kill the shooter with a single shotgun blast as the hostage escaped uninjured. Police said Gale, whose arrest record lists him as 6 feet 3 inches tall and 225 pounds, used a Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and reloaded once during the shooting. Gale's prior arrests were all nonviolent, and included driving with a suspended license and trespassing.
Police have not confirmed the names of the three wounded victims, but the club's manager told the Dispatch that one of them was a security guard who had tried to wrestle the attacker's gun away. Damageplan reps say the other two wounded were tour manager Chris Paluska, who is in critical but stable condition, and drum tech John "Kat" Brooks, who was scheduled to be released from the hospital Friday.
"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," Mull said. Following the incident, police took more than 200 patrons onto three city-donated buses, where they were interviewed by some 60 police detectives.
"The ones that were inside and witnessed this ran for their lives and were in fear for their lives," Mull said. "They are victims too, and we want to take care of them."
In 911 tapes released Thursday, one caller tells the operator, "There's been a shooting! Somebody's shooting! He's shooting the band, oh sh--, he's still shooting!" Another is heard frantically telling the 911 operator, "We need to get out, we need to get out! I can't, I can't get out."
One concertgoer, his jeans torn and soaked with blood, told CNN he jumped onstage and attempted to give Darrell CPR before paramedics arrived.
Police have interviewed friends and relatives of the shooter, attempting to establish a motive for his actions. "We may never know the motive for this," Mull said, "unless he left a note somewhere else."
One eyewitness, 37-year-old food vendor Medhat Mokhtar, told MTV News that he saw Gale lingering outside the club prior to Damageplan's set. Gale paced near Mokhtar's food cart and only entered the club when Damageplan's performance began. Shortly thereafter, Mokhtar noticed concertgoers fleeing the club and screaming, and the vendor headed inside to see what the disturbance was. He said he then made his way to the stage where a crowd had gathered around the wounded Darrell. "I tried to push them away, but people loved him too much. The people were kissing his hands and his feet and trying to give him CPR," Mokhtar said.
Searching Gale's residence is the next step of the investigation, as is analyzing amateur video footage taken of the incident, which homicide investigators are looking at now, Mull said. The venue had no surveillance footage. Mull also said he had been told there was no metal detector at the club, though he could not confirm that at press time and a club spokesperson could not be reached.
For much more on Dimebag Darrell's life, music and influence, tune in to a special edition of "Headbangers Ball" premiering Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET on MTV2.
So sorry Raw. Here is what I found.
Dimebag Darrell: 1966-2004
Dimebag Darrell, guitarist for Damageplan and Pantera, was killed during a shooting spree at a Columbus, Ohio, nightclub Wednesday night. He was 38.
Darrell, real name Darrell Abbott,was among the five people killed during the incident. Also dead are the gunman, 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio; Damageplan bodyguard Jeff Thompson, 40; fan Nathan Bray, 23; and Erin Halk, 29, who worked at the club. Gale also wounded three people.
Damageplan had just begun their first song in front of approximately 250 people at Alrosa Villa when the gunman jumped onstage, made a comment about Pantera, and began firing at close range into Darrell's body, shooting him several times before opening fire on the crowd.
A patrol officer nearby, James Niggemeyer, heard the call of shots fired at 10:18 p.m. and by 10:20 p.m. had snuck inside the club through a back door, according to public information officer Sergeant Brent Mull. After entering, Niggemeyer, who had no backup, confronted the gunman onstage, where he observed one victim and Gale holding a hostage by the neck.
"The officer was able to strategically gun this guy down before he was able to kill his hostage, and it appeared that he was about to kill his hostage," Mull said at a press conference Thursday (December 9). "The suspect had the hostage in a headlock situation and had his firearm out shooting, and it's believed he was about to take his gun to the hostage."
But the hostage wriggled out of the way slightly, Mull said, and the officer was able to kill the shooter with a single shotgun blast as the hostage escaped uninjured. Police said Gale, whose arrest record lists him as 6 feet 3 inches tall and 225 pounds, used a Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and reloaded once during the shooting. Gale's prior arrests were all nonviolent, and included driving with a suspended license and trespassing.
Police have not confirmed the names of the three wounded victims, but the club's manager told the Dispatch that one of them was a security guard who had tried to wrestle the attacker's gun away. Damageplan reps say the other two wounded were tour manager Chris Paluska, who is in critical but stable condition, and drum tech John "Kat" Brooks, who was scheduled to be released from the hospital Friday.
"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," Mull said. Following the incident, police took more than 200 patrons onto three city-donated buses, where they were interviewed by some 60 police detectives.
"The ones that were inside and witnessed this ran for their lives and were in fear for their lives," Mull said. "They are victims too, and we want to take care of them."
In 911 tapes released Thursday, one caller tells the operator, "There's been a shooting! Somebody's shooting! He's shooting the band, oh sh--, he's still shooting!" Another is heard frantically telling the 911 operator, "We need to get out, we need to get out! I can't, I can't get out."
One concertgoer, his jeans torn and soaked with blood, told CNN he jumped onstage and attempted to give Darrell CPR before paramedics arrived.
Police have interviewed friends and relatives of the shooter, attempting to establish a motive for his actions. "We may never know the motive for this," Mull said, "unless he left a note somewhere else."
One eyewitness, 37-year-old food vendor Medhat Mokhtar, told MTV News that he saw Gale lingering outside the club prior to Damageplan's set. Gale paced near Mokhtar's food cart and only entered the club when Damageplan's performance began. Shortly thereafter, Mokhtar noticed concertgoers fleeing the club and screaming, and the vendor headed inside to see what the disturbance was. He said he then made his way to the stage where a crowd had gathered around the wounded Darrell. "I tried to push them away, but people loved him too much. The people were kissing his hands and his feet and trying to give him CPR," Mokhtar said.
Searching Gale's residence is the next step of the investigation, as is analyzing amateur video footage taken of the incident, which homicide investigators are looking at now, Mull said. The venue had no surveillance footage. Mull also said he had been told there was no metal detector at the club, though he could not confirm that at press time and a club spokesperson could not be reached.
For much more on Dimebag Darrell's life, music and influence, tune in to a special edition of "Headbangers Ball" premiering Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET on MTV2.
i did not know about this happening... i dont read much news... just because of stuff like this happening. i grew up listening to pantera... all thru highschool, metallica, megadeth and pantera were my mainstays...
at the person responsible for this.
i wonder what the murderer is having to say to the grim reaper right now?
if it is anything like David Hopkins' Jack??
btw i really like David's work, though i'm not gonna post the link here
as the comic is really for a mature audience.
--rex
at the person responsible for this.
i wonder what the murderer is having to say to the grim reaper right now?
if it is anything like David Hopkins' Jack??
btw i really like David's work, though i'm not gonna post the link here
as the comic is really for a mature audience.
--rex
As usual, I was busy doing other things when the news was on, but did catch that there was a shooting at a concert and that someone was killed. But didn't catch much more than that.
Later saw it online.
So very sad, and an even sadder commentary on our times.
My heart goes out to his family and friends and hope that the perpetrator is caught and sent to prison.
Deb
Later saw it online.
So very sad, and an even sadder commentary on our times.
My heart goes out to his family and friends and hope that the perpetrator is caught and sent to prison.
Deb
What a sad and sick thing to happen.. I am sorry raw.. it's such a horrid thing.. I am sorry you are hurting. 
Sad news indeed.. My condolances to his family and friends..
My condolances to his family and friends..
Not to mention the three other people who died, and the others wounded.
Regards,
John
Regards,
John
I found out about this today and its really sickening.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.