Ozzy Osbourne has condenmed the recent shooting of his former guitarist Jake E. Lee, which he called “another senseless act of gun violence”.
This comes after Lee was shot several times in Las Vegas yesterday morning (October 15), according to his representatives, who also assured the public that he will make a “full recovery”.
“Lee is fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital. He is expected to fully recover”, they said.
“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. As the incident is under police investigation, no further comments will be forthcoming”, his team added. “Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time”.
At the time of writing, local authorities were treating the shooting as “completely random”, with investigations ongoing.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had earlier revealed that “no arrests had been made” at this time.
“senseless”
Reacting to the news, Osbourne who worked with Lee in the 1980s, has branded the incident as “another senseless act of gun violence”.
“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”, Osbourne said.
He added: “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”.
Jake E. Lee had performed in Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band between 1982 and 1987, playing a role in the singer’s albums ‘Bark At The Moon’ in 1983, and ‘The Ultimate Sin’ in 1986. He also featured on several of Osbourne’s live tours.
In 1996, Lee released his debut solo album, ‘A Fine Pink Mist’.
Lee went on to work with heavy metal band Badlands with former Black Sabbath manager Ray Gillen.
He later joined the group Red Dragon Cartel in 2013.