Never-Before-Seen Photos From DIMEBAG Murder Scene Released By Columbus Television Station

Columbus, Ohio television station WBNS-10TV has posted a number of never-before-seen images taken by the police crime scene search unit at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio on the night of December 8, 2004.

A 25-year-old ex-Marine named Nathan Gale charged onstage at the packed nightclub and opened fire on the band and crowd, killing PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and three other people before being killed himself by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who arrived on the scene minutes after Gale began his rampage.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Gale seemed to deliberately target Abbott, leading to speculation that the young man, who had a history of mental illness, held a grudge against Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, for the break-up of PANTERA in 2002. Columbus police closed their investigation in October of 2005 without establishing a motive for the shootings.

Niggemeyer told The Columbus Dispatch in a 2014 interview that he was no longer a police officer, largely because of the emotional toll of that night. He remained on patrol for three years after Dimebag murder, but the city eventually decided, with the advice of doctors, that he shouldn’t be a first responder. He was transferred to the robbery section as a detective.

A little after 10:00 p.m. on December 8, 2004, 911 operators began receiving multiple panic-stricken calls from the Columbus nightclub Alrosa Villa. During a DAMAGEPLAN concert, a man had rushed the stage and fired shots at the band. In moments, seven people were wounded, four fatally.

Officer Niggemeyer, patrolling just blocks away, was the first officer to arrive on the scene, less than three minutes after the first 911 call was received. Niggemeyer entered the building through the rear; five more officers arrived momentarily and entered through side doors. Dead and wounded citizens lay on the floor, shots were still being fired, and several hundred people were trying to escape.

Despite the chaos, Officer Niggemeyer was able to spot the gunman quickly, near the rear of the stage. Retreating from the other officers, the suspect had grabbed a hostage, immobilized him in a headlock, and was holding a gun against the man’s temple. Positioning himself about 20 feet from the suspect, Niggemeyer, armed with a 12 gauge Remington 870, was able to get off one well-placed shot, killing the gunman instantly and ending the carnage. The gunman still had 35 rounds of ammunition when Niggemeyer shot him.

“I remember I was leaving my substation, which is about two miles from the club, when a call came in as a ’43 at the Alrosa’ — which is police code for a shooting,” Niggemeyer told MTV in 2005. “Then, additional calls were coming in about what the suspect was wearing and more shots fired. I was on my way there, so I was the first to arrive on the scene.

“There was a group of people standing by the back door and they called me over to come that way as other officers were arriving on the scene.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that [Gale] didn’t know I was there,” Niggemeyer added. “From where I was, I could see he was focused on the other officers coming in the front.

“I was still hoping maybe he’d let the hostage go and retreat. I was just trying to get as close as I could to assess the situation and hoping he’d [release] the hostage so I wouldn’t have to shoot. But then, while he was waving the gun around, he took it and stuck it to the hostage’s head … which changed the whole situation, if he was going to possibly execute the hostage. They never mentioned a hostage on the radio calls. I knew at that point he wasn’t going to let this guy go, and [might] do something to him.

“I knew from that distance I could shoot the suspect, as long as I aimed high enough and wouldn’t hurt the hostage,” he said. “At that point, almost immediately, I fired.”

Niggemeyer later said that he’d gotten a lot of supportive e-mails from PANTERA‘s fans, as well as a letter from Gale‘s mother.

“She wrote me a few weeks after and told me she understood that I was just doing my job,” he said. “And she didn’t have any ill will toward me.”

Abbott‘s death was a devastating blow to the close-knit hard rock and metal community. He was known to his fellow musicians for his hospitality, friendship and partying spirit, and was a legend among fans and peers for his powerful, innovative and unmistakable playing style.

Vinnie Paul sued Alrosa Villa over his brother’s death. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2007 for what was described at the time as a nominal amount.

In a 2014 interview with the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, Vinnie spoke about his brother’s passing. He said: “It was a really hardcore, tragic event, and the guy [Nathan Gale] wanted to kill me too. And somehow or another, I was lucky enough to escape that, and I’m still here, and I will do everything and anything I can to carry on the legacy and the tradition that my brother always had.”

On December 8, 2004 a horrifying scene played out in Columbus: a crazed gunman opened fire during a heavy metal concert at Alrosa Villa nightclub.

Posted by WBNS-10TV – Columbus, Ohio on Monday, July 25, 2016