Jake E. Lee took to social media to “clarify the events” leading to his shooting in Las Vegas in October.
The former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist, who became Randy Rhoads’ successor in 1982, was walking his dog, Coco, when the incident occurred. He says he saw two men “dressed in black, hoodies pulled down low,” checking out a motorcycle in a driveway.
“They saw us coming up on them and exited the driveway and quickly walked down the street, the same direction we were headed,” a Facebook post dated September 30 reads.
The men “kept checking over their shoulders at us,” as Coco “pulled hard on the leash.” The guitarist says they then warned him: “You need to quit following us, turn around and f*** off.”
Lee stood his ground, believing the men were intimidated by the dog, an 80-pound pitbull. Lee explains that, “after some macho back and forth,” he continued to walk home, the men leaving in the direction they’d come. It was then he was shot.
Police found 15 shell casings at the scene. Three bullets made contact with the guitarist.
“We were about 50 feet apart when I heard the shots,” Lee says. “I quickly realized he wasn’t aiming at me. He was aiming at my dog. I threw my end of the leash at Coco and yelled to go home. He did. He’s a good boy.
“One bullet went through my forearm, one through my foot, and one in the back, which broke a rib and damaged a lung. All the fingers still move.”
Lee has since regained the feeling in the back of his hand, and his fretting arm shows no sign of long-term damage. As a result, his electric guitar talents should be unaffected.
In an interview with Tone-Talk recorded prior to the shooting, Lee responded to how people compared him to Randy Rhoads after he got the Ozzy gig.
While he championed one “unparalleled” aspect of Rhoads’ playing style, he believes he and his predecessor each excelled in areas where the other didn’t.
“Still to this day, there’s people that like my playing, and like it better than Randy’s,” he said. “We’re different. I’m not saying I’m better than Randy, but I don’t think Randy’s better than me, either.
“If anything, he added, my shit’s a little bit harder to play than Randy’s.”
In the same Tone-Talk interview, Lee reported that he hated the mix on 1983’s Bark at the Moon, his first of two albums with Ozzy, but was told by manager Sharon Osbourne to “get used to it.”
