Ozzy Osbourne is sending condolences to former guitarist Jake E. Lee after he was shot in Las Vegas, NV, early Tuesday (October 15), calling it "another senseless act of gun violence."
"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," Osbourne, 75, shared in a statement published by TMZ. "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."
Lee, 67, was hit multiple times in a shooting in Las Vegas early Tuesday morning while out walking his dog. The guitarist was admitted to an intensive care unit and is expected to make a full recovery.
No arrests were made following the incident, and while an investigation is ongoing, police told TMZ that the event was a "completely random" street shooting.
After turns in glam metal outfits Ratt and Sexist, Lee joined Osbourne's band following the death of Randy Rhoads, first appearing on 1983's Bark at the Moon. Lee has alleged that despite his musical contributions to that LP, he was cheated out of his writing and publishing credits by Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon. He would work with Osbourne on 1986 follow-up The Ultimate Sin before being fired by Sharon the following year.
Osbourne revealed in 2022 that American gun violence informed his decision to move back to the UK, sharing, "Everything's fucking ridiculous there. I'm fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert … It's fucking crazy ... America has changed so drastically. It isn't the United States of America at all. Nothing's united about it. It's a very weird place to live right now."