Rocker Vinnie Paul: ‘I can’t believe another musician has been gunned down’

Singer Christina Grimmie’s murder earlier this month (Jun16) brought back dreadful memories for former Pantera rocker Vinnie Paul, because his brother was also shot and killed by a deranged fan.
The drummer was “floored” by the news of Grimmie’s death at the hands of obsessed fan Kevin Loibl, who gunned her down at a fan meet-and-greet in Florida on 10 June (16) and then shot himself, because the tragedy was similar to the one that cost Pantera guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott his life more than a decade ago.
“I never thought it would happen again… and that’s really almost the same scenario that happened to my brother,” Paul told Texas radio station KBAT 99.9. “It’s just unbelievable that there’s still people that are that fanatical and that crazy out there in today’s world that we don’t have enough security to keep that from happening.
“It’s a dangerous world, man. You’ve gotta keep your eyes and ears peeled and be on the alert all the time.”
Two days after Grimmie’s death, the members of Pantera issued a statement calling out the live music industry for not doing more to prevent tragedies like the ones that cost the singer and Dimebag their lives.
They wrote: “After Dime’s murder, we all prayed that our industry (i.e. club owners & promoters) would do whatever they needed to do to protect artists from gun wielding fanatics. Sadly, that’s not the case and another rising star had to pay the consequences with her life. SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!”
Dimebag was performing with Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio in December, 2004, when he was shot and killed by ex-U.S. Marine Nathan Gale.