It's been a little over a week since the shocking arrest of Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O'Brien.
For the first time since the arrest, Cannibal Corpse have released an official statement:
“As a band and as individuals, we all want nothing but the best for our brother and partner, Pat. While we can offer no further information about the incident, we wanted everyone to know that Pat is getting the help he needs and appreciates the love and support from Cannibal Corpse fans around the world.
Pat is currently with family and friends and looks forward to a healthy return at some point. For anyone wondering, all Cannibal Corpse touring will happen as planned and all shows will be played.”
O'Brien is currently facing charges of burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
O'Brien broke into a neighbor's home, threw a woman in the residence to the ground, and ran to their backyard where he hid behind a fence. When cops surrounded him, he tried to charge at them with a knife, but was tasered and arrested. As this was happening, his own home was engulfed in flames, and live ammunition was going off. There were "military-grade flame throwers" also causing the fire to get even bigger, resulting in his entire home burning down. Firefighters worked for hours to put out the blaze. There are no charges against O'Brien as a result of the blaze.
Deana Mazurkiewicz, the wife of O'Brien's Cannibal Corpse bandmate, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on MightyCause.com to try to help get Pat back on his feet. Deana wrote in a statement that Pat had no insurance and that people should "not jump to conclusions until the full details of what occurred come out." As of this writing, nearly $20,000 has been raised. We previously reported that the fundraiser was deactivated, but it just seems like the site was temporarily down.
Cannibal Corpse are currently scheduled to co-headline the Decibel Magazine Tour this Spring, before opening for Slayer on select final tour dates.
