Guitarist Jake E. Lee, who was shot multiple times while he was walking his dog Tuesday near his Las Vegas home, is feeling “relatively very lucky” about surviving the shooting, which broke one of his ribs and damaged a lung.
The Red Dragon Cartel rocker directly addressed fans Thursday, posting his first update about the incident on his band’s Facebook page. He told fans how much he appreciates their concern and well-wishes: “Makes everything going on a little better. “
“To clarify, I was shot three times. I was on my way back home from walking my dog Coco (I didn’t name him so don’t!) Don’t want to go into details now, I’m tired, but I feel relatively very lucky,” he said, sharing a photo of his pet.
Lee, 67, said that police found 15 shell casings at the scene, meaning that the shooter “emptied his clip on me.”
“I could only dodge so many so one bullet went through my forearm, one through my foot, and one in the back which broke a rib and damaged a lung. Priority now is to keep draining my lung till it’s done crying. Then we can pull that tube out and concentrate on the more minor injuries,” he said, adding that Coco is “fine and appreciates your inquiries.”
Lee’s spokesperson Amanda Cagan confirmed Tuesday that he was shot early that morning but was fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital. Cagan said he is expected to fully recover from the “completely random” incident.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday that officers responded to a shooting incident at 2:42 a.m. in the 11000 block of Alora Street, about 10 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip. They said they found “a male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” and he was transported to a hospital.
No arrests were made, and the investigation is ongoing, the department said.
Lee famously served as Ozzy Osbourne’s lead guitarist from 1982 to 1987 when the famed Black Sabbath frontman pursued a solo career after being booted years earlier from his heavy metal group. Lee, however, was later unceremoniously fired from solo Osbourne’s act. On Tuesday, Osbourne, who said he hadn’t seen Lee in 37 years, was shocked by his former bandmate’s shooting.
“It’s just another senseless act of gun violence,” Osbourne told TMZ. “I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter, Jade. I just hope he’ll be OK.”
Lee went on to play in Badlands with former Black Sabbath singer Ray Gillen in 1988. Then, after placing himself under “self-imposed exile” from the music industry and retreating from the public eye, he teamed up with bassist-producer Anthony Esposito, drummer Phil Varone and singer Darren Smith to form the bluesy, hard rock band Red Dragon Cartel, which released its first album in 2014.