UFC fighter Matt Brown is a metalhead, and he was there on December 8, 2004 when Dimebag Darrell was tragically murdered at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. Brown was recently interviewed by UFC on Fox and recounted what a horrific experience it was being in the crowd that night:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFARloh5m6U[/youtube]
The fine folks at Metal Hammer transcribed his intense story:
"All of a sudden the guitar started messing up and the song started fading. I saw Vinnie Paul stopping and putting his sticks down. I looked over – I saw everybody looking over towards Dimebag. Dimebag was on the ground. I hadn't heard any shouts but I saw some blood and I thought he'd been stabbed.
"We rushed the stage – 'Come on, let's get this dude.' About that time a security guard knocked me over and a guy started shooting everyone in the crowd. I started to run away; there was a big pillar and I got behind it."
Brown admits his next move might have been stupid, but he'd decided: "'I'm not going to run from this guy; I'm not going to get shot in the back.'" He continues: "He was shooting for ever and I didn't even know where the exit was. I was like, 'I'm at least going to stand and face the guy.' As the thought was going through my head there was a person standing right next to me that got shot.
"I thought, 'Somebody's got to do something.' It can't be as fast as it happened in my mind, but I remember looking over and at the back door was the off-duty cop with a shotgun, and he shot the guy."
The fighter left the venue and wandered around the car park, asking himself if he'd really seen what had just happened. Then he went back inside and remember: "I saw Dimebag laying on the floor with his guitar in his hand, bloody as fuck."
Oof. There is more to the story and you can watch it in the video above. This December will mark the 10th anniversary of Dime's tragic death. You have to think there will be some serious celebrations of his life when that day comes.
