Rock guitarist murdered

last updated 8 January 2015

Columbus, Ohio

A deranged fan jumped onto the stage of an Ohio nightclub last week and shot heavy metal guitarist Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott, 38, five times in the head. The gunman, Nate Gale, also shot and killed a stagehand, a bodyguard, and a fan in the crowd. A policeman on patrol nearby rushed into the club and shot Gale, killing him. Friends said Gale, a 6-foot-3 former Marine, had been a fanatic follower of Abbott’s former band, Pantera. But recently, Gale had been claiming that the band had stolen songs he wrote, and had threatened to sue. “He used to be Pantera’s No. 1 fan,” said Dave Johnson, a former friend of Gale’s. “He just kind of snapped.”