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Fans sue nightclub where Pantera guitarist shot

Two rock fans who witnessed the killing of heavy metal guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott in a nightclub shooting spree that left five dead are suing the club’s owners, saying the club provided inadequate security.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Two rock fans who witnessed the killing of heavy metal guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott in a nightclub shooting spree that left five dead are suing the club’s owners, saying the club provided inadequate security.

Jerry and Karen Wessler claim in their lawsuit that they still suffer severe and permanent emotional injuries from seeing deranged fan Nathan Gale rush the stage at the Alrosa Villa nightclub Dec. 8, 2004.

Gale, a former Marine, killed Abbott and three others who tried to intervene. He avoided security at the front entrance by climbing a fence and entering a side door.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, claims Gale’s actions “were reasonably foreseeable, given the totality of circumstances.” An attorney for the Wesslers declined to give details.

The Wesslers are seeking unspecified damages from club owners Rick and John Cautela, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Last year, Vincent Abbott, who was the guitarist’s brother and drummer, also sued the club alleging inadequate security. He was joined in the lawsuit by plaintiffs Chris Paluska, the band’s tour manager, and John Brooks, a drum technician.

Gale was still shooting and had a hostage in his arms when Columbus police officer James Niggemeyer killed him with a shotgun blast. A grand jury cleared Niggemeyer of wrongdoing.

Abbott was a well-known member of the Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Pantera. Damageplan, the band playing on the night of the shooting spree, formed after Pantera broke up.