Jake E. Lee, the esteemed former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, recently shared insights into his recovery and outlook on life following a harrowing shooting incident last fall near his Las Vegas home. In a new interview with Jim Florentine and Jim Norton on SiriusXM‘s Ozzy’s Boneyard, Lee discussed how the event, alongside a pre-existing health issue, impacted his ability to play guitar.
Lee revealed that before the October 2024 shooting, he had already faced a significant challenge with his guitar playing due to severe arthritis in his wrist. “Well, I hadn’t been playing guitar for a couple of years because this wrist was killing me [due to] arthritis,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), noting X-rays confirmed a complete loss of cartilage, resulting in bone-on-bone friction. He had begun rehabilitation and seen improvements before the shooting occurred while he was walking his dog.
When asked if such a traumatic event reshaped his perspective on life, Lee admitted: “A little bit.” He shared his conscious effort to avoid dwelling on the incident, recognizing it as unhealthy. “I dwelled on it a little bit after I got shot, and then I realized it wasn’t healthy,” he stated. “And so I just kind of pushed it aside and didn’t think about it too much. ‘Cause I mean, yeah, the world got darker, more dangerous, not as fun after that night. And since then, I don’t think about it too much. And the world’s getting back to where I can enjoy it.”
Last month, Lee confirmed that the two individuals allegedly responsible for the shooting have been apprehended and are scheduled for sentencing later this month. The incident unfolded on the morning of October 15, 2024, around 2:40 a.m., when Lee was in his driveway preparing to walk his dog. He sustained gunshot wounds to his forearm, foot, and back – with the latter breaking a rib. Fortunately, none of the shots struck a vital organ. A neighbor, alerted by the gunfire, took cover, armed himself, and contacted emergency services. Lee‘s dog was unharmed, and police reportedly recovered 15 shell casings at the scene.
Recounting the sequence of events last November, Lee described encountering two men in black hoodies scrutinizing a motorcycle. When they noticed him and his dog, they quickly walked away in the same direction. Despite their warnings to “quit following us, turn around and f**k off,” Lee continued, believing the men were more intimidated by his 80-pound pitbull than by him. He explained that after “some macho back and forth,” he turned to head home, only to hear shots from about 50 feet away. “I quickly realized he wasn’t aiming at me. He was aiming at my dog. I threw my end of the leash at Coco and yelled to go home. He did. He’s a good boy,” Lee wrote, detailing how one bullet pierced his forearm, another his foot, and one entered his back, breaking a rib and damaging a lung, but crucially, his fingers remained mobile.
Jake E. Lee rose to prominence when he was chosen by Ozzy Osbourne to succeed the late Randy Rhoads in Osbourne‘s solo band. He contributed to two of Ozzy‘s albums: 1983’s Bark At The Moon and 1986’s The Ultimate Sin.
Lee made a special appearance at the star-studded “Back To The Beginning” event held at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. At this concert, which notably marked Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance as a solo artist and a member of Black Sabbath, Lee performed covers of “The Ultimate Sin” and “Shot In The Dark,” rekindling memories for long-time fans.
