Metal Bassist Shot After Confronting Gunman Outside Music Venue
Greyhawk bassist Darin Wall was shot in the leg after confronting a gunman outside a music venue in Boise, Idaho. The musician, who is being hailed as a hero, is recovering at home and is expected to make a full recovery.
Wall was at Boise venue the Shredder when he noticed a confrontational man in the crowd. Ethan Byrd, 26, was reportedly pointing at the crowd from outside the venue and pretending to shoot people with finger guns.
"I don't know if anyone else saw it," Wall tells KTVB 7. "I got a weird feeling right away. Sometimes you confront really wasted people, or really drunk, they're really angry and they're shouting and they're belligerent. This guy was really cold, I would say."
The bassist and a musician from another band were keeping Byrd outside the venue when Byrd walked back to his car and grabbed a gun. Byrd allegedly put the gun in his pants and returned to the venue.
"I saw him reach behind his back and grab the gun. That's when I moved in," Wall recalls. "No other options went through my head."
Wall and Byrd got into a confrontation and the two began to wrestle each other. "The gun was in the pocket of his pants and he shot me through his pants, and got me in the upper thigh," Wall said.
Byrd was arrested by Boise police within minutes of the shooting. "I did get lucky with the location of the shot. It's in a place that's not damaging anything that's gonna be permanent. We don't think," Wall said. "The show up until everything went down was just an incredibly good time full of joy, full of love. It was a big party, and it was awesome. Hug your family members, hug your friends. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so be good to each other."
Bass Player Stops Shooter at Boise Music Venue
We’d like to wish Darin Wall a quick and full recovery. Thank you for giving metalheads everywhere a good name! Check out Greyhawk’s music in the player below.