Dimebag Met Killer Before

The man who killed guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott onstage December 8th had a previous onstage scuffle with Abbott’s band, Damageplan, last April, according to authorities.

Nathan Gale shot and killed Abbott and three others at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, before being shot and killed by police. Gale, who had allegedly been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, reportedly believed Abbott’s former band, Pantera, was stealing his songs.

Eight months earlier, Gale jumped onstage during a Damageplan show at Bogart’s in Cincinnati. During a struggle with police, Gale caused $1,800 in damage to lights and other equipment, according to police reports. The band continued to play as the man was removed from the stage.

Gale was a fan of Pantera. He told his mother and a former employer of his mental disorder before he was given an early discharge from the Marine Corps in October 2003.

The band never filed charges against Gale for the Cincinnati scuffle because it did not want to return to the city for the court hearing, according to The Columbus Dispatch.