COLUMBUS, Ohio – A gunman charged onstage at a packed nightclub and opened fire on the band and the crowd, killing top heavy metal guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and three other people before a police officer shot him to death, authorities and witnesses said.
Columbus Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified three of the victims of Wednesday’s shooting as Abbott, guitarist with the heavy metal rock band Damageplan, and two other men, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk. It was not immediately clear whether Bray and Halk were associated with the band.
She identified the gunman as Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, Ohio. She said it was not clear whether he had any connection to the band.