Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee victim of random shooting in Las Vegas
Jake E. Lee, the guitarist who formerly worked with Ozzy Osbourne, is expected to make a full recovery after being shot several times in Las Vegas while walking his dog during the early hours of the morning on October 15th.
According to Lee’s representative, who provided a statement following the event, the musician is in an intensive care unit following the attack, which is now being investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. At this stage, no arrests have been made related to the incident.
“Lee is fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital. He is expected to fully recover,” the statement claimed, per Rolling Stone.
“Las Vegas authorities believe the shooting was completely random and occurred while Lee took his dog out for a walk in the early morning hours,” the rep continued, adding, “No further comments will be forthcoming. Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time.”
According to a spokesperson, local police responded to reports of a shooting at around 2:42 a.m., though they did not name or identify Lee as a potential victim and claimed it is an “ongoing investigation.”
Lee played alongside Osbourne for five years during the 1980s before joining the metal band Badlands and later forming his own group, Red Dragon Cartel, in 2013. Although he recently faced another setback with wrist pain that prevented him from performing live, he had been focussing on recovery to ensure he would one day soon approach the main stage again.
Ozzy Osbourne responds to Tony E. Lee shooting
Following Lee’s “completely random” attack in Nevada, Osbourne spoke to TMZ to recall the “shock” of hearing about the unfortunate event.
Lee contributed to several of Osbourne’s musical efforts, including 1983’s Bark At The Moon and 1986’s The Ultimate Sin, and accompanied him during several career-defining tours.
Upon hearing the recent news, Osbourne told the tabloid: “It’s been 37 years since I’ve seen Jake E. Lee, but that still doesn’t take away from the shock of hearing what happened to him today.”
Making his position on “gun violence” perfectly clear, he continued, “It’s just another senseless act of gun violence. I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter, Jade. I just hope he’ll be OK.”
This isn’t the first time Osbourne has revealed such an opposition. In 2022, the musician revealed he was “fed up” with people “getting killed” every day in America while discussing his plans to return to the UK with his wife, Sharon. “God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings,” he said, “And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert… It’s fucking crazy.”
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