Nathan Gale and the 2004 Alrosa Villa Mass Murder
Overview
On the night of December 8, 2004, 25-year-old Nathan Gale opened fire during a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa nightclub, 5055 Sinclair Road, Columbus, Ohio. In less than three minutes, Gale murdered four people�including guitarist Darrell �Dimebag� Abbott�and wounded three others before being shot and killed by responding Columbus police officer James Niggemeyer. The attack began at approximately 10:20 p.m. EST and ended by about 10:23 p.m.
The Perpetrator
Nathan Miles Gale (born September 11, 1979) had briefly served in the U.S. Marine Corps before receiving a medical discharge in 2003. Family accounts and contemporaneous reporting describe a history consistent with paranoid schizophrenia, including persecutory delusions. Gale�s mother later stated he believed members of Pantera had stolen his lyrics and identity; she also said he returned from the Marines with medication for his illness.
Lead-Up to the Attack
Earlier in 2004, Gale had caused a disturbance at a Damageplan gig in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he rushed the stage and damaged equipment; the band chose not to press charges. On December 8, witnesses saw Gale loitering outside Alrosa Villa during the opening acts. He scaled a six-foot fence, entered through a patio door, and waited for Damageplan to take the stage around 10:15 p.m.
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