Report: Fans Mourn Slain Ex-PANTERA Guitarist At Memorial Service

Bobby Ross Jr. of The Associated Press has issued the following report:

Clad in concert T-shirts and puffing on cigarettes, fans of slain heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott faced tight security Tuesday night as they lined up to attend a public memorial service.

Security guards screened grieving fans with metal detecting wands as they came to pay tribute to Abbott, 38, former guitarist for the band PANTERA. He was shot to death last week in Columbus, Ohio, while performing with his new band, DAMAGEPLAN, at the Alrosa Villa nightclub.

Three others were killed before police shot and killed 25-year-old gunman Nathan Gale.

Messages such as "RIP Dime" and "Honk, honk for Dimebag, Peace in the after life" were scrawled on cars in the parking lot of the Arlington Convention Center.

A high-pitched guitar solo blared from 19-year-old Jennifer White's pickup. White, a "PANTERA" button on her shirt, said Abbott was a legend.

"He's just as big as Jimi Hendrix but in a different way," she said.

Her friend Skyler Smith, 18, added: "A legend died on Wednesday night. I guarantee I'll be telling my kids about this day and the day that he died. ...My heart was broken."

Fans braving near-freezing temperatures cheered the arrival of flower arrangements in the shape of guitars and a display with the words "Crown the Moment, Crown Royal," a reference to Abbott's favorite brand of whiskey.

Michael Schaefer, 21, of Garland, and his wife, Raedene, 20, both wore black PANTERA concert shirts.

"It's still a real shock, the fact that it actually happened and the fact that someone would want to hurt him," Michael Schaefer said.

"It's terrible, man. He was the nicest fella you would ever want to meet," said Rick Cunningham, 48, of Euless.

Cunningham was one of the few of the thousands waiting in line who wore a suit and tie to the service. Cunningham, a former lead singer for a Dallas band called RAGE, said he'd known Abbott for 20 years.

Abbott had formed DAMAGEPLAN with his brother and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott after they left PANTERA.

Abbott attended Arlington High School and lived in nearby Dalworthington Gardens.

The memorial service was put together by Vinnie Paul Abbott along with Paul Bassman Management Company, Pinnacle Entertainment and AEG Live, South, said Paula McElheney, who is with AEG, a promoter.