COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 9 -- At first, Damageplan's heavy-metal fans thought it was part of the show.
A man in a hooded sweat shirt climbed onto the stage Wednesday night at the Alrosa Villa nightclub. He opened fire on shaggy-haired guitarist Darrell Lance Abbott, better known as "Dimebag Darrell," one of the fastest metal guitarists around, famous for his aggressive licks and his hard-partying life.
Paramedics work on one of seven shooting victims at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Five people died, including the gunman.
(James Decamp -- Columbus Dispatch Via AP)
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Heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and three others were gunned down during a concert in an Ohio night club.
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Abbott's blood was real, though, and the gunman wasn't through. He fired into the crowd, killing three more people, and had someone else in a hammerlock before a police officer shot him dead. Police say they do not know what drove him to kill.
"This is the worst day in metal history," a posting on the band's Web site said Thursday.
Abbott, 38, developed a cult following with his powerful riffs, dynamic personality and legendary loyalty to his fans; they in turn flocked to Abbott and his partners in the thrash-metal band Pantera, nominated for two Grammy awards. Now, police and fans are trying to figure out what made the Ohio gunman, identified by police as Nathan Gale, 25, cut him down.
"The investigation is still relatively new," Columbus police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said. "There's a lot of misinformation floating around, especially on fan Web sites. We haven't ascertained a motive or a relationship to the band."
An early question from investigators: Is it significant that the gunman struck 24 years to the day after Mark David Chapman, a jilted fan, gunned down former Beatle John Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment building?
One fan said Thursday that Gale seemed to be an angry Pantera fan who blamed Abbott for that band's demise. Damageplan charted new territory while bringing along old material written by Abbott and brother Vinnie Paul, but some Pantera partisans never got over the split.
"My friend heard him yelling: 'Darrell, Darrell! You're the reason Pantera broke up. You ruined my life,' " said Brian Windzigl, 22, a professional skateboarder. "I saw him pull out a gun and shoot him in the face. It was point-blank."
Windzigl figured the killer for a "crazed Pantera fan."
Adding his own view of Dimebag Darrell, Windzigl couldn't bring himself to use the past tense: "He's a metal god. Just being in the same room with him is an honor."
The story pieced together from witnesses, passersby and police suggests that Damageplan had just begun its first set Wednesday night at Alrosa when hundreds of fans saw Gale go to the stage, followed closely by a bouncer and another club employee.
Gale went to Abbott, started yelling and fired fast. Abbott folded toward Gale and a bouncer tried to pull the assailant off him as Gale continued shooting. Gale shot the bouncer and apparently fired into the crowd.
When police got the call at 10:18 p.m., Officer James D. Niggemeyer was patrolling the industrial, middle-class neighborhood where the Alrosa was a fixture. He raced to the club's back door. When he reached the stage, he saw Gale holding someone in a chokehold. Niggemeyer, 31, shot Gale dead.
