Cannibal Corpse wrapped up their Fall North American tour this past Thursday (6th) at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale, FL continuing to support their latest effort, 2017’s Red Before Black. Fan-filmed footage of the group’s final stop on the tour can be seen below:
Moving forward to today (12th), our heads are still spinning trying to understand what happened to guitarist Pat O’Brien between their final night of the trek to four days later on Monday (10th) resulting in his shocking arrest followed by his first court appearance. Unfortunately, this story continues to get ugly as ABC Action News has reported flamethrowers and live ammunition is what led firefighters rushing to his Northdale home. Crew members responded after 7 PM on monday after a neighbor called 911 on smelling smoke and seeing flames coming from the house. Tampa Bay Times added that the neighbors mentioned the fire broke out after an apparent domestic dispute.
It didn’t take long for the firefighters to realize O’Brien’s home wasn’t safe as exploding ammunition continued to erupt. Meanwhile, less than half a mile-away, which is on the other side of the golf course at the Northdale Golf & Tennis Club, according to Hillsborough County Jail, O’Brien was arrested and charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
The homeowner who refused to speak on camera told ABC Action News, mentioned in the below video, that he thought O’Brien was hallucinating when he spoke to him about the “rapture” and claimed “someone was after him.” The homeowner also addressed that O’Brien seemed scared and at one point hid in the closet.
Neither Cannibal Corpse nor Metal Blade records have released a statement on this matter. The story is still developing as O’Brien is facing a $50,000 bond. Due to Florida’s laws, the crimes the guitarist is being accused of are considered first degree felonies that can potentially lead to a sentence of 30 years for assault on a law enforcement officer and up to a potential life sentence for burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault or battery.
https://youtu.be/OVvHfnXC8HM
