| 2004 Columbus nightclub shooting | |
|---|---|
 A fan outside the Alrosa Villa pays tribute to Dimebag Darrell, the main target of the shooting | |
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| Location | 40°04′07″N82°59′57″W / 40.0686°N 82.9991°W /40.0686; -82.9991 (Alrosa Villa) 5055 Sinclair Road,Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Date | December 8, 2004; 21 years ago (2004-12-08) 10:20 –10:23 p.m. (EST;UTC−05:00) |
| Target | Dimebag Darrell |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapon | 9mmBeretta 92FSsemi-automatic pistol |
| Deaths | 5 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 3 |
| Perpetrator | Nathan Gale |
| Defenders |
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| Motive | Unknown (possiblypersecutory delusions caused byparanoid schizophrenia) |
On December 8, 2004, four people were killed and three others wounded in amass shooting at the Alrosa Villa nightclub inColumbus, Ohio, United States. The main target of the attack was"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was on stage performing with his bandDamageplan at the time of the shooting. During the opening song, 25-year-old Nathan Gale rushed the stage and fired his gun several times, killing Abbott. Three minutes after opening fire, Gale took a hostage in a negotiation attempt, but was shot in theforehead with ashotgun by responding officer James Niggemeyer.
Abbott sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. The other fatalities were Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson, Damageplan's head of security who tackled Gale; Erin Halk, an Alrosa employee who tried to restrain Gale; and Damageplan fan Nathan Bray, who had jumped onto the stage to aid Abbott and Thompson. Damageplan's tour manager Chris Paluska and drum technician John Brooks suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds and were taken toRiverside Methodist Hospital, whileroad crew member Travis Burnett was treated at the scene.
The motive for the shooting is still unknown. Gale, a former member of theUnited States Marine Corps, had told his mother and employer that he had been discharged due toparanoid schizophrenia, and many of his friends observed erratic behavior from Gale in the months leading up to the shooting. Some news outlets claimed that Gale was angry with Abbott for the dissolution of his previous bandPantera, while others believed that Gale was operating under the delusion that Pantera hadplagiarized his lyrics and were attempting to steal his identity.
A number ofheavy metal artists released tributes to Abbott after his death, while others pushed for increased security at concerts to prevent another such incident. Niggemeyer was valorized for his action and later retired from the police department in 2011 withpost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Abbott's brother and Pantera drummerVinnie Paul resented singerPhil Anselmo for his perceived role in influencing the shooter, and remained distant from the other members of the band until his death in 2018.
Guitarist Darrell Abbott, better known by his stage name of "Dimebag Darrell," founded the Americanheavy metal bandPantera in 1981 alongside his brother Vincent Abbott, better known asVinnie Paul.[1] After the release of their albumReinventing the Steel in 2000, tensions arose between the Abbott brothers and lead singerPhil Anselmo, and although Pantera never officially disbanded,[2] by 2003, the band members had moved on to other projects.[3] The Abbott brothers recruitedPatrick Lachman, former guitarist forHalford, to form the heavy metal bandDamageplan.[4] Damageplan released their first album,New Found Power, in February 2004, and spent most of the year ontour to promote the title.[5]
On April 8, 2004, a Pantera fan named Nathan Gale interrupted a Damageplan performance atBogart's nightclub inCincinnati,Ohio, jumping onto the stage and causingUS$1,800 of damage to lighting and other stage equipment during an ensuing police struggle.[6] While officers responding to a9-1-1 call about the incident noted Gale's actions as criminal endangerment anddestruction of property, Damageplan elected not to press charges as they did not want to return to Cincinnati for court proceedings.[7] The band was unfazed by the incident. An attendee later stated that, after Gale had been removed from the venue, Lachman had joked, "I'd like to introduce you to the fifth member of the [expletive] band."[8]
On Wednesday, December 8, 2004, Damageplan were headlining a concert at the Alrosa Villa nightclub inColumbus, Ohio. The venue had a capacity of 600 and had sold 250 tickets for the evening's show. Club manager Rick Cautela and other concertgoers noticed Galeloitering in the parking lot during theopening acts, Volume Dealer and 12 Gauge, and asked why he was outside, to which he responded, "I don't want to see no shitty local bands [...] I'm gonna wait for Damageplan."[9] By the time that Damageplan took the stage at 10:15 p.m.EST, the crowd had grown to approximately 400. Gale entered the premises by scaling a 6-foot (1.8 m) wooden fence on the north side of the venue and entering through a patio door.[10]
At 10:20 p.m., partway into the opening song of Damageplan's set,[a] Gale, dressed in aColumbus Blue Jackets hockey jersey and a hooded sweatshirt, rushed onto the stage and drew hisBeretta 92FS9mmsemi-automatic pistol.[11][12] He moved directly towards Abbott and shot him four times atpoint-blank range: in the right cheek, the left ear, the back of the head, and the right hand.[13][14] Joe Dameron, the bassist for Volume Dealer, said that Gale shouted something but did not know what.[9] Some attendees did not realize that a shooting had taken place, with security guard Ryan Melchiore stating, "people were pumping their fists, thinking it was a hoax."[9]
After shooting Abbott, Gale began firing on the other attendees, beginning with tour manager Chris Paluska,[b] who was shot once in the chest before Damageplan security chief Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson tackled Gale from behind.[13] Thompson was fatally shot in the chest, back, and upper thigh in the ensuing struggle.[16] Nathan Bray, a Damageplan fan, leapt onto the stage and was fatally shot in the chest while attempting to resuscitate Abbott and Thompson.[17] Erin "Stoney" Halk, an Alrosa Villa employee and formerMarine who had either assisted Thompson or had charged Gale while he was reloading, was mortally wounded by six shots: four in the chest, one in the hand, and one in the leg.[10][17]
Travis Burnett, a member of Volume Dealer'sroad crew, attempted to disarm Gale and was grazed by a bullet on his left forearm. Burnett fled the scene when subsequent gunshots were aimed at his head.[9][18] Drum technician John "Kat" Brooks attempted to subdue Gale. He was shot twice in the leg and was taken as a hostage.[19] Responding within three minutes to a9-1-1 dispatch call, Officer James Niggemeyer of theColumbus Division of Police (CPD) entered the club through a backstage door and shot Gale once in the face with a12-gaugeRemington Model 870shotgun, killing him instantly. At the time of his death, Gale had a half-full magazine in his Beretta and another 30 rounds of ammunition on his person.[19] He had fired 15 rounds during the attack.[20]
Fans removed Abbott from the stage and attemptedcardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived at the scene, where Abbott was pronounced dead. He was 38 years old.[10] Thompson, 40, and Halk, 29, were also pronounced dead at the scene, while Bray, 23, was transported to theRiverside Methodist Hospital and was declared dead at 11:10 p.m.[16] Paluska and Brooks were also transported to Riverside, where they ultimately survived and recovered from their injuries. Burnett received treatment at the scene and declined transport to the hospital.[10]
Nathan Miles Gale (September 11, 1979 – December 8, 2004)[21] was born inChicago, Illinois,[11] as the youngest of three sons to Gerald and Mary Gale. He spent the first few years of his life in the Chicago suburb ofLansing until his parents divorced; he then moved with his mother toMarysville, Ohio, while his two older brothers stayed behind with their father. Gale initially attendedBenjamin Logan High School, where he brieflywrestled, but transferred toMarysville High partway through his junior year. He enrolled in avocational program at theOhio Hi-Point Career Center, where he studied construction and electrical work, and graduated in 1998.[22][23]
Gale lived with his mother after graduation, working a variety ofminimum wage jobs and developing a problem withsubstance abuse. He often complained of being watched, which his mother attributed to his drug use. When a violent confrontation with his mother led to police intervention, Gale was thrown out of the house and became homeless. He supported himself throughpanhandling and theft until he agreed to enter adrug rehabilitation program, after which his mother allowed him to return.[24] Gale's encounters with law enforcement at this time were minor: sometrespassing charges from skateboarding, as well as one instance where he was accused of stealing from work.[22]
In February 2002, inspired by theSeptember 11 attacks, Gale enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps (USMC).[11][24] Proud of his military service, Gale's mother purchased the Beretta pistol as a Christmas present after he completedbasic training.[22] Gale was stationed atCamp Lejeune inNorth Carolina with the2nd Marine Division until he was discharged in November 2003, less than halfway through the typical four-year enlistment period. A USMC spokeswoman declined to explain the reason behind Gale'smilitary discharge.[25]
Gale told his mother that he had been discharged due to being diagnosed withparanoid schizophrenia. Although he had returned with medication, he declined additional treatment after returning home.[22] TheDepartment of Veteran Affairs found Gale a job as a mechanic, and he informed his employer, Rich Cencula, of his condition.[10][26] Anautopsy performed by theFranklin County coroner's office found no trace of drugs in Gale's system, prescription or otherwise.[8]
Standing 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighing over 250 lb (113 kg), Gale decided to take upboxing andfootball after his military discharge.[27] He joined the Lima Thunder, a semi-professional football team in northwest Ohio, as anoffensive lineman, and would listen to Pantera before games.[28] Gale, a lifelong fan of heavy metal, became obsessed with Pantera while he was in high school, and remained fixated on the band even after their 2003 separation.[29] Gale's former friend Dave Johnson told reporters that Gale had shown up at a mutual friend's house with Pantera lyrics that he had claimed were his own, asserting that Pantera hadplagiarized the lyrics and were attempting to steal his identity.[30]
Many of Gale's friends began to distance themselves from him as his behavior became increasingly erratic; once, he told his former friend Mark Break that God was asking him to killMarilyn Manson.[27] Others noted that he would talk and laugh to himself, would pretend to hold an imaginary dog, and that he would bother patrons at the tattoo parlor across the street from his apartment, staring at clients and engaging them in conversations about heavy metal music.[27][30] Gale's neighbors remembered him as quiet and aloof. He had been stopped multiple times for traffic citations, and had been charged with criminal trespassing for both skateboarding and sleeping outside.[11][31]
At the time of the shooting, Gale lived alone in an apartment above an abandoned storefront.[31] After the shooting, police officers found two handwritten notes inside the apartment. One read, "You'll see come alive. I'll take your life and make it mine. This is my life I'm gone. Git me." The other read, "You'll see the sky fall. I'll makes Pig fly. Come on and give me some, Come on give me some. Do it and Die, Do it and Die."[32]
After the shooting, it was speculated that Gale had been motivated by Pantera's disbandment, with initial reports claiming that he had shouted, "You broke up Pantera" or, "This is for breaking up Pantera" before opening fire, statements never corroborated by witnesses.[33] Others cited aMetal Hammer interview with Anselmo that had been published shortly before the shooting, where Anselmo said that Abbott "deserves to be beaten severely".[34] Investigators found no evidence that Gale had been motivated either by Pantera's split or by the dispute between Abbott and Anselmo,[18][35] and were unable to find evidence that Gale had read the interview.[34] The fact that the shooting occurred exactly 24 years after themurder of John Lennon was dismissed as coincidental.[34]
After listening to the recording of theMetal Hammer interview, Vinnie Paul concluded that Anselmo had not been joking about the "beaten severely" comment, and from that point he declined to speak with Anselmo or Pantera bassistRex Brown.[36] Although plans for a Pantera reunion tour had been discussed, withZakk Wylde filling in for Abbott, the rift with Vinnie remained until his death in 2018.[37] The band eventually reunited in 2022 for a series of tours, with Wylde andCharlie Benante filling in for Abbott and Paul, respectively.[38]
Niggemeyer, the on-duty police officer who had engaged in deadly force, was brought before agrand jury as standard procedure to determine if there had been any wrongdoing. At no point did prosecutor Ron O'Brien expect Niggemeyer to be charged, and he was cleared of wrongdoing on May 23, 2005.[39] Niggemeyer received a number of awards for his actions during the shooting: he was a finalist for a bravery award given byAmerica's Most Wanted,[40] was given the Distinguished Law Enforcement Valor Award fromOhio attorney generalJim Petro,[41] and was named the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2005 by theNational Rifle Association.[42] Gale's mother referred to Niggemeyer as a "hero,"[29] and told reporters, "I give that man credit. You'll never know how many lives he saved."[43] Niggemeyer remained afirst responder for three years before becoming a robbery detective on the advice of his doctors, who had diagnosed him withpost-traumatic stress disorder and a severeanxiety disorder. He left the CPD in 2011 to take a different job with the city, and as of 2014 remained friends with both Cautela and with Halk's brother Andy.[44]
The shooting raised concerns within the music community over concert security and the prevalence of fans leaping onto the stage.Anthrax guitaristScott Ian said that his view of stage rushers changed after Abbott's murder, and that, "I don't give a fuck how much fun you're having. Stay the fuck off the stage."[14] Immediately after the shooting, many concert venues tightened their security standards by hiring off-duty police officers as guards, checking attendees' pockets and bags more thoroughly, and in some cases studying setlists to anticipate when fans may become troublesome. By 2014, however,Cannibal Corpse drummerPaul Mazurkiewicz andWe Are Harlot guitarist Jeff George noted that many venues had relaxed their security protocols due to the associated costs.[45] WhenChristina Grimmie was fatally shot by an obsessed fan in Florida during a 2016 meet and greet event outsideThe Plaza Live, a venue without metal detectors, the PanteraFacebook account called on venues and promoters to improve their security to protect artists.[46]
The Alrosa Villa nightclub was listed for sale in late 2019, following the death of its founders, Al and Rosa Cautela. Their children continued operating the venue until 2020, when theCOVID-19 pandemic forced music venues and bars to close indefinitely.[47] In June 2021, the city of Columbus announced that the venue would be demolished to make way for ahousing project.[48] The Alrosa Villa was demolished in December 2021.[49]
Abbott was a popular and influential figure in the heavy metal community, and his death created a mass outpouring of grief among other bands and artists of the time.[50] One of the first artists to create a musical tribute to Abbott wasBlack Label Society, whosemusic video for "In This River" depicts Wylde and Abbott as children attempting to swim across a river; while Wylde survives, Abbott does not.[51]Type O Negative, who were close friends with Abbott, waited until 2007 to release the track "Halloween in Heaven", off of the albumDead Again. FrontmanPeter Steele toldMTV, "I didn't want to exploit [Abbott's] name because it was so soon after his death."[52] Vinnie Paul donated an unreleased 24-second guitar solo toNickelback that they incorporated into the 2005 track "Side of a Bullet", which describes the shooting from the point of view of the killer.[53] Other tribute songs include "Dimes in Heaven" byBrides of Destruction and "Dimebag" byCross Canadian Ragweed,[54][55] while the 2005 albumsTen Thousand Fists byDisturbed,[56]Lifesblood for the Downtrodden byCrowbar,[57] andStart a War byStatic-X were all dedicated to Abbott's memory.[58]
Although he never met Abbott,M. Shadows ofAvenged Sevenfold was affected by the death of one of his two "greatest guitar heroes", the other beingSlash, and the track "Betrayed" onCity of Evil, written from multiple points of view, was Shadows's "way of dealing with the whole thing after it happened".[59]Machine Head, meanwhile, was inspired to write "Aesthetics of Hate" after frontmanRobb Flynn read an article praising Gale for the murder of "a semi-human barbarian".[60] The song was nominated forBest Metal Performance at the50th Grammy Awards.[61]
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