As previously reported, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee was shot multiple times while walking his dog early Tuesday morning (October 15th) in Las Vegas. Now, Osbourne has issued a statement expressing concern for his onetime bandmate while also condemning “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,” said Osbourne in a statement released to TMZ on Tuesday night . “It’s just another senseless act of gun violence.
The metal icon added, “I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter, Jade. I just hope he’ll be ok.”
Lee is currently in an intensive care unit, but is expected to make a full recovery. Per his publicist’s statement, Lee “was shot multiple times early [Tuesday] morning in a Las Vegas, NV street shooting. Lee is fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital. He is expected to fully recover. 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 guitarist was a member of Osbourne’s solo band from 1982 through 1987, playing on the albums Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986). Lee engaged in a dispute with Sharon Osbourne over his songwriting credits while in Ozzy’s band, and was eventually fired from the group in 1987.
However, Ozzy has insisted in subsequent interviews he had nothing against Lee, saying that his drummer at the time. Randy Castillo, had turned him against Lee. As evidenced by his statement, Ozzy appears deeply concerned about his former bandmate.
Lee went on to form the band Badlands with singer Ray Gillen in the late ’80s, and the group Red Dragon Cartel in 2013.
See Ozzy Osbourne and Jake E. Lee performing “Bark at the Moon” in 1984 below.