BUFFALO (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Rodney Appleby, the bassist for Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, was shot in the jaw on Saturday. Appleby, 49, had been visiting a neighbor on November 25 when he was shot in the jaw at close range with a .22 caliber pistol by a man identified as Theodis Johnson. Johnson has been detained and charged with attempted murder, criminal use of a weapon and criminal possession of a weapon, the Buffalo news reported. A motive for the attack was not reported.
Appleby was hospitalized subsequent to the attack and is in stable condition. Gillan's planned Australian tour has been cancelled as the bullet remains lodged in Appleby's neck. In a statement on his website, Gillan said: "We regret to announce that the Australian Ian Gillan tour dates have been cancelled. The main reason for this cancellation is the bullet which remains in Rodney Appleby’s neck from his recent shooting by a crazy neighbor who was trying to kill him. While Rodney is recovering well, and is expected to recover fully, at this point the doctors are advising caution for Rodney because they don’t know what will be required to extract that bullet, or whether its current location will cause other problems."
The cancelled dates are:
January 19 The Palace Melbourne Australia
January 20 Salinas Sydney Australia
January 21 Revesby Workers Sydney Australia
January 23 Panthers Newcastle Australia
January 25 Shelly's Wollongong Australia
January 26 The Arena Brisbane Australia
January 27 Twin Towns Services Tweed Heads Australia
January 28 Evan Theater Penrith Australia
– CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
