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Originally Posted by wikipedia
On December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. Abbott was shot a total of four times, at point-blank range in the back of the head. He was 38 years old.
Three others were killed in the shooting: concert attendee Nathan Bray, 23 of Columbus; club employee Erin Halk, 29 of northwest Columbus; and Damageplan security guard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40 of Texas.
The band's drum technician, John "Kat" Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were also injured.
According to police, Gale fired a total of fifteen shots, taking the time to reload once, remaining silent throughout the shooting. When security staff tried to stop him, Gale fired at them, wounding Paluska, and killing Halk, who had attempted to stop the gunman with a beer bottle as a weapon. Damageplan head of security Jeffery Thompson fought with Gale for a short time, stopping him from killing Vinnie Paul Abbott and John Graham, as well as knocking off Gale's glasses (preventing him from seeing Officer Niggemeyer just minutes later), before being fatally wounded by Gale. Audience member Nathan Bray, who jumped onstage to try to give CPR to Dimebag and Thompson, stood up and took a single step towards Gale before being shot a single time in the chest. Brooks was scuffling with Gale onstage but was overpowered and taken hostage in a headlock position. Brooks was shot several times (once in the right hand, his right leg, and his right side) while attempting to get the gun away from Gale. Five officers came in the front entrance led by officer Rick Crum, and moved toward the stage. Officer James D. Niggemeyer came in through the back door, behind the stage. Gale only saw the officers in front of the stage; he never saw officer Niggemeyer. When the hostage moved his head, Officer Niggemeyer shot Gale in the face with a police-issued 12-gauge shotgun. Gale was found to have 35 rounds of ammunition remaining.
During the rampage, nurse and audience member Mindy Reece, 28, went to the aid of Abbott. She and another fan administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Dimebag Darrell was buried at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.
In May 2005, Officer Niggemeyer testified before the Franklin County grand jury, which is routine procedure in Franklin County after a police shooting. The grand jury did not indict Niggemeyer, finding that his actions were justified.
Niggemeyer received a commendation from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission for his outstanding police work in time of crisis as well as The National Rifle Association award as 2005 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The five other officers that were first on the scene received Ohio distinguished law enforcement medals for their brave work. In 2006 James Niggemeyer penned the foreword to A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa.
Early theories of motive suggested that Gale may have acted based on the Pantera breakup, or a public dispute between Abbott and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, but these were later ruled out by investigators. [4] Another theory was that Gale believed Abbott had stolen a song Gale wrote. In the A Vulgar Display Of Power book, several of Gale's personal writings, given to the author by Gale's mother, show that the motive of Pantera's breakup or the idea of stolen songs is false, and that due to his condition, paranoid schizophrenia, he believed that the band could read his mind, were stealing his thoughts, and laughing at him.
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