This incident caused me to get my permit.
I was living in Columbus then, and some friends and I went to see a favorite act, Damageplan, lead by a guitar wizard by the name of Darrell Abbot (aka 'Dimebag'). I was with three of my closest pals, and we were expecting a night of beer and loud metal, and it was a fine night for it at Alrosa Villa. We arrived late, and it was a good thing. Before we could get in the door, our guitar hero and several others had lost their lives.
Many more might have died if it weren't for a fast-acting cop who sensed when the gunman's attention was focused elsewhere. What follows is an except from Wikipedia taken directly from the Columbus Dispatch.
"According to police, Gale fired a total of fifteen shots, taking the time to reload once, remaining silent throughout the shooting. When security staff tried to stop him, Gale fired at them, wounding Paluska, and killing Halk, who had attempted to stop the gunman with a beer bottle as a weapon. Damageplan head of security Jeffery Thompson fought with Gale for a short time, stopping him from killing Vinnie Paul Abbott and John Graham, as well as knocking off Gale's glasses (preventing him from seeing Officer Niggemeyer just minutes later), before being fatally wounded by Gale. Audience member Nathan Bray, who jumped onstage to try to give CPR to Dimebag and Thompson, stood up and took a single step towards Gale before being shot a single time in the chest. Brooks was scuffling with Gale onstage but was overpowered and taken hostage in a headlock position. Brooks was shot several times (once in the right hand, his right leg, and his right side) while attempting to get the gun away from Gale. Five officers came in the front entrance led by officer Rick Crum, and moved toward the stage. Officer James D. Niggemeyer came in through the back door, behind the stage. Gale only saw the officers in front of the stage; he never saw officer Niggemeyer. When the hostage moved his head, Officer Niggemeyer shot Gale in the face with a police-issued 12-gauge shotgun. Gale was found to have 35 rounds of ammunition remaining."
Last night, while reading last month's American Rifleman, I noticed that James Niggemeyer was awarded the NRA Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2005. Why A.R. waited two years to mention this is stupid, but it doesn't matter.
Thank you to Officer Niggemeyer, and it is with heartfelt gratitude that I wonder how he is today and if he knows that he made a huge difference in my decision to educate myself and become the sheepdog. I don't know how many people owe him the same debt, but my thanks on this forum seems hardly enough. I placed a call to the Columbus PD, and they gave me information about where to send a note to Officer Niggemeyer. After I post this, I'm going to sit down and write this account by hand and send it off to him. It is my hope that he senses how deeply I feel these words; I can never convey the true emotion behind them.
If you have someone to thank, a cop, a soldier, a teacher...do it today. Tomorrow may be your last, and that person will never know how they influenced you unless you tell them. Do it now.
