As Damageplan played the first song of its setlist, 'Breathing New Life', Gale rushed onto the stage and drew his Beretta 92FS 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He moved directly towards Abbott and shot him four times at point-blank range: once in the right cheek, left ear, back of the head, and right hand. Damageplan's head of security Jeffrey 'Mayhem' Thompson, tackled Gale and was fatally shot in the ensuing struggle. Damageplan fan Nathan Bray, who attempted to aid Abbott and Thompson, was also shot dead, as was Alrose Villa employee Erin Halk who tried to disarm Gale as he was reloading. Damageplan's drum technician John 'Kat' Brooks then attempted to subdue Gale. He was shot twice in the leg and taken as a hostage. Responding within three minutes to a dispatch call, police officer James Niggemeyer entered the club through a door behind the stage and shot Gale once in the head with a 12-gauge Remington Model 870, killing him.