Jake E. Lee says that he is “doing surprisingly well” after being shot in Las Vegas.
The 67-year-old former OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist was hit three times in a shooting about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip early on Tuesday, October 15. He was later taken to a hospital’s intensive care unit, where he is fully conscious and “doing well,” Lee’s representative confirmed in a statement, adding that he’s “expected to fully recover.”
Earlier today, former GUNS N’ ROSES and SIXX:A.M. guitarist D.J. Ashba, who also lives in Las Vegas, took to his Instagram Stories to share a text exchange between him and Jake. After Ashba wrote to Lee, “Please tell me you’re okay??” Jake responded, “Doing surprisingly well. I am one lucky mother fucker. Just make sure your bday bash is wheelchair accessible! Just jestin'” Ashba then replied: “So fn thankful you’re ok! Naha! U got it bro!”
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lee was in his driveway about to walk his dog at about 2:40 a.m. when he was shot in the forearm; in the back, with the bullet breaking a rib; and in the foot. None of the shots hit a vital organ. A neighbor heard the shots, hid his kids, grabbed a gun and called 911. Lee‘s dog was unharmed.
Lee‘s management said in a statement that police think the shooting “was completely random and occurred while Lee took his dog out for a walk in the early morning hours.”
“No further comments will be forthcoming. Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time,” his management said.
The Las Vegas Police Department later released a statement in which they said: “Officers responded to a shooting incident in the 11000 block of Alora Street. Officers arrived and located a male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The male was transported to the hospital. No arrests have been made at this time. This is an ongoing investigation.”
Lee, who was tapped by Ozzy Osbourne to replace the late Randy Rhoads in the singer’s solo band, played on two Ozzy records: 1983’s “Bark At The Moon” and 1986’s “The Ultimate Sin”.
In a statement to TMZ, Ozzy 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 OK.”
Bret Michaels of POISON wrote on X (formerly Twitter),”To our friend Jake E. Lee — our thoughts, prayers and concerns go out to you, my friend, after hearing the news of you being shot in Las Vegas today. We are all pulling for you & hoping that you will have a speedy & incredible recovery.”
JOURNEY‘s Neal Schon also took to the social media platform. “Crazy world,” he wrote. “take care Jake.”
NIGHT RANGER‘s Brad Gillis, who also played guitar in Osbourne‘s band in the past, shared his own statement on X regarding the shooting. “I just heard about Jake E Lee. Glad to hear he is doing well,” he said. “My thoughts are with ya, buddy!”
After performing with Ozzy, Lee formed the hard rock band BADLANDS. He released the solo albums “Retraced” and “Guitar Warrior” in 2005 and 2007, respectively. After a self-imposed exile from the music industry and the public eye, Lee returned with a new band called RED DRAGON CARTEL, releasing a self-titled album in 2013 followed by “Patina” in 2018.
