Columbus TV Station Looks Back On DIMEBAG Murder As Part Of 'Hidden Histories' Video Series

As part of its "Hidden Histories" video series, WSYX, channel 6, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, has shared a new two-minute look at PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's murder while on stage at the Alrosa Villa in north Columbus. The shooting happened in December 2004, only moments after Dimebag's then-band DAMAGEPLAN took the stage. 25-year-old Nathan Gale used a 9 mm Beretta handgun to fire 15 shots, killing Dimebag 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.

With no backup, Niggemeyer entered Alrosa Villa on December 8, 2004 and fired a single shotgun blast that killed Gale. Gale was still shooting and had taken a hostage when the officer came in.

Gale had told his mother and a former employer that he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic before he was discharged from the Marines in October 2003, two years into a four-year stint. Military records did not mention mental illness as the reason for the discharge.

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."

Officers who searched Gale's apartment found no "computers or magazines or compact discs" related to DAMAGEPLAN or PANTERA, according to a 2005 report from The Columbus Dispatch. However, a compact-disc player found inside the Pontiac Grand Am that Gale drove to the concert contained a DAMAGEPLAN CD.

Dimebag and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, formed PANTERA in the mid-1980s in Texas. The band recorded four independent albums before their 1990 major label debut, "Cowboys From Hell", introduced a heavier sound and made them a favorite with metal fans. 1994's "Far Beyond Driven" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 without benefit of a commercial hit single.

The group splintered in 2002 following the departure of volatile lead singer Philip Anselmo. Dime and Vinnie regrouped with DAMAGEPLAN, releasing the band's debut album, "New Found Power", in February of 2004. The group was touring in support of the record at the time of the shootings.

Vinnie and Philip had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

In July 2022, it was announced that Anselmo and PANTERA bassist Rex Brown would team up with guitarist Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.