Gunman shoots six, including band members; police kill him
Thursday, December 09, 2004 Matthew Marx , Aaron Beck , Kevin Kidder and Evan Goodenow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
PAUL VERNON | ASSOCIATED PRESS A bouquet of roses rests on a stone outside of the Alrosa Villa in tribute to the victims of Wednesday night's shootings.
JAMES D . DeCAMP | DISPATCH Medics move out one of the seven shooting victims from the Alrosa Villa, 5055 Sinclair Road.
JOE GIRON | COURTESY , ELEKTRA ENTERTAINMENT Members of Damageplan: from left, Bob "Zilla" Kakaha, Vinnie Paul Abbott, Patrick Lachman and "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.
A gunman charged onstage at a heavy-metal concert at a North Side club late last night and opened fire, killing four people and wounding two before being shot dead himself by a Columbus police officer.
The attack occurred at 10:19 p.m. at the Alrosa Villa, 5055 Sinclair Rd., Columbus police said.
This morning, police department spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified three of the victims of Wednesday's shooting as Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott, guitarist with the heavy-metal rock band Damageplan, and two other men, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk.
Mercurio identified the gunman as Nathan Gale, 25, from the Marysville area northwest of Columbus. She said there was no information on a motive or if he had any connection to the band.
Five-year patrol officer James D. Niggemeyer, 31, probably saved other lives by firing at Gale, Mercurio said.
Damageplan had just begun playing when the man opened fire, first targeting Abbott, shooting him several times at point-blank range, witness Chris Couch, 22, said.
Couch said he was standing about 30 feet away from the stage when he noticed a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and hockey jersey walk up to the stage, followed by a bouncer and another club employee.
The man in the jersey climbed onto the stage, started yelling and shot the guitarist five or six times at close range, Couch said. He said the gunman also shot a bouncer who pulled him off the musician.
Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Brent Mull said that after shooting at members of the band, the gunman fired into the crowd. Mull said a police officer who arrived shortly after the shooting began shot and killed the gunman.
"If the officer wasn't as close as he was, I think this would have been a lot worse,'' he said. "It was a chaotic scene, just a horrific scene.'' Police have not released the names and conditions of the other victims.
Witnesses said the band’s drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott, who is Abbott’s brother, also was shot, as was a club security guard.
About 400 people were watching Damageplan, a national act that includes former members of the band Pantera, when a man forced his way in through the back door, got past a security guard and walked onstage, witnesses said.
"He came in from stage left and pointed a gun at Dimebag from about 15 feet away," said Tim Bryant, 24, of the Northeast Side, who was watching from the front row. "I thought he was a roadie, then I saw Dimebag fall and blood shoot out.
"He was after him and anyone who tried to stop it got shot," Bryant said.
The gunman then shot Abbott point-blank before turning his gun on other band members and at least one club employee, Bryant said.
Then the man stopped and reloaded as concert-goers ran for the doors.
Calvin Bota, 22, of the West Side, was right in front of the stage, in the mosh pit, when the shootings occurred.
He, like many others, thought the bullets were fake and the shootings part of the act.
"I thought it was staged," Bota said.
He said he watched a bald man come onstage and shoot guitarist Abbott point-blank.
He said that the drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott, was shot next, and that the man then began shooting randomly on the stage and into the audience as the crowd ran for the exits.
Bota said a uniformed Columbus police officer arrived quickly and shot the gunman, who at that point was hiding in a corner.
"There were 20 shots at least," added Larry Mitchell, who was standing in the middle of the room.
Mitchell, 27, of Dublin, said he also thought the shootings were part of the act, then watched at least 10 people call 911 as they realized they weren’t.
"Everyone began running for the doors," Mitchell said.
He said the shootings occurred only about 40 seconds into Damageplan’s set, as the heavy-metal band began singing New Found Power.
Mitchell, who plays in a metal band called Exit, said he’s sad to see something like this happen at the Alrosa.
"This is the place to be if you love metal."
Since 1974, the Alrosa Villa has been a bastion for hard-rock bands. In recent years, the club has hosted rap concerts, but it remains the marquee club for fledgling local hard-rock bands to ply their trade.
Groups such as Korn, Incubus and the Deftones played there before they headlined arenas.
Some performers who played in arenas occasionally return to the club — Dokken, Warrant and members of Pantera.
But the club also has had its share of problems.
On Nov. 11, a thief stole two large backdrops worth $5,500 as a band loaded equipment into their van in the parking lot.
And on Jan. 25, a Columbus police officer fired shots at a car thought to contain a gunman who had shot a 22-year-old man in the parking lot.
Adam Vanover, 25, and friend Nathan Heiberger, 27, both of Bellefontaine, were at last night’s show.
Vanover is a huge fan of the band and had brought a guitar in hopes of having it signed by Dimebag.
Both thought the shooting was a joke, then dropped to the ground when they realized it wasn’t.
Heiberger said he’ll never forget what he saw last night.
"A lot of people are scarred for life out here," he said.
Gerald Caudill Jr., 19, who lives on the Northwest Side, could be among them.
Caudill said he ran for a door when the shootings started.
"I was freaking out," he said. "I was like, ‘What if something happens? What if he comes out here.’ "
Caudill said he ran into the parking lot to see a man shot in the chest slumped against a van with a woman trying to help him.
About 1 a.m. today Columbus police were rounding up the hundreds of witnesses to the shootings onto several COTA buses. They were being taken to hotels for interviews, police said.
Steph Elias was a big fan of Pantera and now Damageplan.
"I followed them for 12 to 15 years. It’s beyond family. It’s just not cool."
Elias said of the shootings: "It was just chaos. We didn’t know if it was part of the show. We didn’t know what was going on at all. Everybody was standing there like a deer caught in the headlights with their mouth on the ground."
The gunman was described as a heavyset, tall, bald man wearing a Columbus Blue Jackets home jersey and jeans. Bryant said he was using a chrome handgun that looked like it could have been a 9 mm.
Bryant said he jumped onstage to try to stop the gunman, who had a security guard in his grasp. But Bryant had to dive behind the drums because of the gunfire.
"An officer came in on stagedoor left. I told him, ‘The guy is right there.’ I said ‘Shoot him now.’ He killed the suspect," Bryant said. "The suspect is dead for sure. . . . I’m just a fan who tried to help out."
The Abbott brothers founded Pantera in Dallas, Texas, in 1982.
The band’s 1994 album, Far Beyond Driven, hit Billboard’s No. 1 slot.
The multimillion-selling quartet, a veteran of the popular Ozzfest heavy-metal festival, played in in stadiums around the world, and disbanded in 2002. Singer Phil Anselmo left to concentrate on his bands Down and Superjoint Ritual.
The Abbotts, with former Halford singer Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kakaha, then formed Damageplan. The band released its debut album, New Found Power, this year.
Dimebag Darrell was one of contemporary heavy metal’s influential guitarists. The year, Guitar World gave him seventh place among the "Top 100 Guitarists of All Time."
This was Damageplan’s second performance in this year in Columbus.
Alrosa manager Rick Cautela said the gunman looked like he had a vendetta against band members.
"I heard the shots go off one after another. The crowd went out like hell. The guy kept shooting," Cautela said. "This guy knew he was gonna die. He didn’t leave."
One of Cautela’s security guards who was working the back door was shot trying to get the gun away from him, the manager said.
"It took like three seconds. I could have had 10 police officers working there and it didn’t make any difference."
