Ozzy Osbourne has commented on the shooting of his former guitarist Jake E. Lee.
Lee, who played in Osbourne’s solo band from 1982 to 1987, was shot multiple times in Las Vegas early Tuesday morning (October 15). He is currently conscious in an intensive care unit and expected to make a full recovery.
Osbourne offers his well wishes to Lee and his family in a new statement to TMZ (via Blabbermouth). “It’s been 37 years since I’ve seen Jake E. Lee,” the Black Sabbath singer says, “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.”
Las Vegas authorities believe the Lee shooting, which happened while the guitarist was walking his dog at 2:40am, was “completely random”. According to a social media post by Sirius XM radio DJ Eddie Trunk, Lee was struck three times – in the chest, arm and foot – but is “doing well”.
Lee joined Osbourne’s solo band as the full-time replacement of Randy Rhoads, who died in a plane crash in 1982, aged 25. Lee played on two of Osbourne’s albums, Bark At The Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), before being fired.
Osbourne explained Lee’s dismissal in a 2022 Stereogum interview. “Jake E. Lee was a fucking great guitar player,” he said, “and the way it went was, Randy Castillo, my old drummer, had started to turn me against him. It was very sad because I had no qualms with the guy. He was a great guitar player.”
After leaving Osbourne’s band, Lee performed with Badlands, Wicked Alliance, Mickey Ratt, Enuff Z’Nuff and, following a 15-year silence, Red Dragon Cartel. Red Dragon Cartel’s last album, Patina, was released in 2018.
