Jake E Lee has been shot multiple times while walking his dog in Las Vegas.
The 67-year-old – who is best known for his time as lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne in the 1980s – was out in Las Vegas on Thursday when he was subject to a ‘random attack’.
Lee, who helped write 1983 album Bark At The Moon, is ‘doing well’ in intensive care and ‘expected to fully recover’.
In a statement to TMZ, Ozzy sent his best wishes to Lee, as he 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.’
Tim Heyne, manager for Lee’s rock band Red Dragon Cartel, told The Associated Press: ‘By the grace of God, no major organs were hit, he’s fully responsive, and expected to make a full recovery.’
A statement from Lee’s representative added: ‘As confirmed by management, legendary rock guitarist Jake E. Lee was shot multiple times early this morning in a Las Vegas, NV street shooting.
‘Lee is fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital.
‘He is expected to fully recover.’
‘Las Vegas authorities believe the shooting was completely random and occurred while Lee took his dog out for a walk in the early morning hours.’
The statement confirmed that as the incident is now a police investigation, no further comments or updates on the Badlands star will be made.
The statement concluded: ‘As the incident is under police investigation, no further comments will be forthcoming. Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time.’
A second statement, provided by local police, confirmed that the shooting had taken place and that the victim was quickly taken to receive medical attention.
It read: ‘On October 15, 2024, at approximately 2:42 a.m., LVMPD 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.’
The rock star played as Ozzy’s lead guitarist from 1982 to 1987 before he was replaced by Zakk Wylde, and he was later involved in Badlands.
He was contacted by Sharon Osbourne in the hope of a reunion, but he refused unless he got a songwriting credit for Bark At The Moon.
He told author Martin Popoff: ‘She tracked my phone number because I swear there were maybe a handful of people that had my phone number.
‘Somehow she called me at home, and she told me that Ozzy was having problems with Zakk, and they were looking to replace him and if I’d be interested in doing some festivals and quite possibly the next record.
‘I can’t let sleeping dogs lie.
‘I said if we’re going to go forward, I want to fix the one problem I’ve had since the very beginning. I said I would like my name on the songwriting credits for Bark At The Moon.’