Nathan Gale

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Nathan Gale (September 11, 1979 – December 8, 2004) was a native of Marysville, Ohio, USA, who was killed by a police officer after he murdered several people at a concert, including heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell.^[1]

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
2 Murder of Dimebag Darrell
3 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Gale was a 1998 graduate of Marysville High School. He served in the United States Marine Corps from February 2002 until November 2003, but did not serve his full term. Gale served as an auto mechanic with the 2nd Marine Division at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina^[2].

[edit] Murder of Dimebag Darrell

On December 8, 2004, he stormed the stage during a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio with a Beretta 92 pistol, and proceeded to shoot and kill Darrell, former member of the heavy metal band Pantera. Following this, Gale turned the gun on those who had rushed the stage to stop him, killing audience member Nathan Bray and club employee Erin Halk, as well as Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, a member of the band's security entourage. He also wounded the band's tour manager Chris Paluska and drum technician John "Kat" Brooks^[3].

Nearby Columbus police officer James D. Niggemeyer quickly responded and shot Gale once in the face with a 12 gauge Remington 870 shotgun after a hostage managed to move out of the way. As shown in unedited footage of the incident^[4], Gale's head was literally blown off by the shotgun blast. A voice could be heard shouting "Dude, his head is gone", immediately following the shotgun blast. Officer Niggemeyer, appearing visibly shaken by what had just occurred, is reassured by a Damageplan roadie who told him "You did the right thing. You saved lives." The Franklin County Grand Jury determined Niggemeyer's shooting of Gale to be justified, and on December 15, 2005, the Fraternal Order of Police Associates presented him with the Officer of the Year award. ^[5]

Gale's motive for the killings may never be known, though some witnesses state that he shouted something about the breakup of Pantera before he started shooting. Those who knew him claim that he was a huge fan of Pantera (because of this, his motive for the killings could have been the fact the band broke up three years previously), and that he often showed signs of mental instability. According to interviews with his friends, he sometimes claimed that Pantera was stealing songs that he had written. ^[6]

While in the USMC, he was given medications for his mental problems. Writings found in Gale's possession indicate that he may have suffered from schizophrenia.^[7] A tattoo enthusiast, Gale is alleged to have started an unprovoked argument earlier in the day at Bear's Den Tattoo Studio in Marysville, over the unwillingness of the shop to order a tattoo machine for him. Gale played semi-pro football for the Lima Thunder, and was known to have listened to Pantera music in preparation for each game.^[8]

Avenged Sevenfold's song, "Betrayed", from the album, City of Evil and Nickelback's song, "Side of a Bullet", from their album, All the Right Reasons, as well as Zakk Wylde's "In This River" were all written about Gale and the shooting of Dimebag.