Alrosa Villa Owner: DIMEBAG's Murderer Was 'On A Mission'

The Associated Press is reporting that the nightclub where a gunman killed four people, including former PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, last month will reopen, the owner says.

Rick Cautela told The Columbus Dispatch in Friday's editions that the Alrosa Villa would have stayed closed for good if not for thousands of supportive messages from fans and musicians.

"When they cranked up the new P.A. last night, I felt a little bit of my old self coming back," Cautela said.

His parents, Al and Rose Cautela, opened Alrosa Villa 31 years ago.

He and his brother and co-manager, Johnny Cautela, tended bar at the club, a top spot for central Ohio heavy metal fans that also has hosted hip hop and alternative music concerts. Rick Cautela said he's "still numb" about the Dec. 8 shooting.

Police and witnesses said Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, scaled the 8-foot patio fence to get inside and climbed on stage, where he shot DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as he played, then killed a band security worker, club employee and fan before a police officer shot Gale in the face.

A benefit concert for the victims is set for Friday at a larger Columbus venue, and another next Friday at Alrosa.

Cautela told the newspaper he scheduled two more shows in January and is working to fill other spots because of the support from bands and customers.

"This has been my life for 31 years," he said. "I'm ready to do this with them if they want to do it with me. ... If they don't, I understand. I'll walk away and close the doors."

Cautela replaced the club's sound system — Gale was hiding between a tall speaker and monitor board holding a gun to a hostage's head when he was shot - and the carpet on the stage and in the nearby dressing room. On a stage riser he placed a black rug used by Abbott's brother and DAMAGEPLAN's drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott, to mark where his drum kit should go.

He also plans to require pat-downs of all patrons and is considering a metal detector and hiring more security for the club, which can hold up to 700 people.

Friends and Gale's mother have said that Gale was obsessed with the Abbott brothers' former band, PANTERA, and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, resulting in his discharge from the Marines.

"I don't think it would have made any difference if we'd have had 30 security guards," Cautela said. "I mean, would it have been better if (Gale) had come in through the front door and been patted down, or we'd used a wand on him and found his gun then? He was on a mission."