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An image of guitarist Jake E. Lee performing on stage
Image via Instagram/reddragoncartel

‘What a senseless crime!’: It’s almost unfathomable what happened to Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist Jake E. Lee in Las Vegas

Almost had the icon "chasing ghosts."

Jake E. Lee is an immediately recognizable name in rock and roll. The legendary guitarist might not be making headlines like during his heyday, but that’s changed.

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Unfortunately, though, it’s not great news. Lee was shot repeatedly in Las Vegas and was immediately hospitalized. Details on the shooting have been emerging since the incident occurred on Oct. 15, and fans are desperate for updates on Lee’s health.  

Jake E. Lee’s iconic run

Jake E. Lee is a guitar player best known for playing in Ozzy Osbourne’s band from 1982 to 1987 following the death of former guitarist Randy Rhoads. He joined Osbourne’s band as the lead guitarist for the albums Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin, released in 1983 and 1986, respectively. While the initial story was that Lee received the news via telegram that he was fired from Osbourne’s band, he revealed in an interview with Eon Music that he actually found out from his roommate who was also his guitar tech. After getting fired from Osbourne’s band, he formed Badlands with former Black Sabbath members Ray Gillen and Eric Singer. Badlands released three albums from 1989 to 1998 though they disbanded in 1993. After Badlands, Lee formed a new band named Red Dragon Cartel in 2013.

What’s the full story of what happened to Jake E. Lee in Las Vegas?

The guitar-playing icon was shot several times in an incident that happened on the morning of Oct. 15 in Las Vegas. The rocker was immediately rushed to the hospital when found by the police. According to TMZ, Lee was walking his dog sometime around 2:41 a.m. when he was shot three times. The Las Vegas police are still investigating the incident. According to a statement from Lee’s management given to USA Today, the police believe the shooting was “completely random,” and that Lee was not a targeted victim. 

The Las Vegas police shared with USA Today that they received a report of a shooting incident on Alora Street and rushed to the scene. There they found Lee incapacitated by the gunshot wounds and took him to the hospital. No arrests have been made yet. 

Lee is reportedly recovering well. One of his publicists spoke to Billboard and said, “Lee is fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital. He is expected to fully recover.” There has also been an outpouring of celebrity support for Lee following the incident including from Ozzy Osbourne. In a statement given to TMZ, Osbourne said, “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. 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 back.”

Lee has also released a statement of his own to the Red Dragon Cartel Facebook page. In the message, he clarified some of the details of the shooting, saying, “To clarify, I was shot three times, I was on my way back home from walking my dog Coco. Don’t want to go into details now, I’m tired, but I feel relatively very lucky.” 

Fans of Lee flooded his post with well-wishes, with thousands of comments expressing universal relief over the outcome. As one put it: “What a senseless crime! I am so sorry that this happened to you… So glad that you are still here with us.”


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Author
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Demi Phillips
When he’s not out exploring the underground music scene, Demilade Phillips covers entertainment news and other exciting topics for We Got This Covered. He scored his Bachelor’s in International Relations and has been writing for almost a decade on the things he’s most passionate about: music, black excellence, anime, and pop culture.