Cris Kirkwood (Meat Puppets)

[haVoc 0]

Cris Kirkwood, former bassist for influential alternative rock band the Meat Puppets, remained hospitalized Monday after being shot in the abdomen on Friday.

 

Kirkwood was shot outside a post office in downtown Phoenix by a security guard escorting him off the premises after he was involved in an argument with a woman over a parking space, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in nearby Banner, Arizona, in critical condition and underwent surgery on the wound, a hospital spokesperson said.

 

As the 43-year-old Kirkwood attempted to back into a spot on the street at around 5 p.m., Jenny Hom, 32, also began to pull into the same spot from the rear and honked her horn. Both drivers then pulled into a parking lot.

 

Kirkwood, shouting obscenities, followed Hom toward the post office and stopped her on the sidewalk.

 

"He shrugged his shoulder as if he was going to hit me," she told The Arizona Republic. "He didn't hit me."

 

She informed a post-office security guard about the incensed Kirkwood, who had followed her inside, and the guard escorted him out of the building, according to the FBI spokesperson. There, Kirkwood shoved the guard, who then drew his collapsible baton and again instructed him to leave the premises.

 

At that point, a scuffle ensued. Kirkwood punched the guard, who responded by hitting Kirkwood's leg. Kirkwood then grabbed the guard's baton and hit him in the left side of the head. Fearing that the beating would continue, the guard drew his sidearm and fired one round. He then called Phoenix police.

 

The FBI is investigating the incident because it happened in a federal building. Kirkwood could be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a federal felony.

 

With his older brother Curt, Kirkwood formed the Meat Puppets in Phoenix in 1980. The band released six albums for the famed SST label before signing with major label London Records. With their combination of punk, country and jam-band roots, the Meat Puppets influenced many bands in the early 1990s, most notably Nirvana, who tapped them to open their 1993 In Utero tour.

 

Nirvana covered three Meat Puppets tunes, "Plateau," "Oh, Me" and "Lake of Fire," for 1994's MTV Unplugged album, and the Kirkwood brothers also played with Nirvana for the television special.

 

The Meat Puppets scored their biggest mainstream hit with "Backwater" from 1994's Too High to Die. The band's last album, Golden Lies, was released in 2000 without the participation of Cris, whose long struggle with heroin addiction contributed to the group's eventual demise.

 

This report is provided by MTV News/VH1

[Steviekick 0]

I read about this the other day. If Kirkwood was acting out of control, I can understand security using force to subdue him. But shooting him was just plain wrong.

[Matt Young 0]

Wow... This is shocking. I'll admit that I am not a huge fan of the Meat Puppets, but what I have heard of their music (basically the songs Nirvana covered and a few others), I really like. This incident is just surreal. I mean, Christ... The guy's not very big to begin with. Couldn't there have been some other way to subdue him rather than shooting him in the damn stomach?

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

According to the report he had the guy's baton and had already hit him in the head with it. If anything I think he should have either pointed the gun and told him to stop if he had time or shoot him in the leg. If there wasn't time, then I say the shooting was justified.

[Steviekick 0]

Wow... This is shocking. I'll admit that I am not a huge fan of the Meat Puppets, but what I have heard of their music (basically the songs Nirvana covered and a few others), I really like. This incident is just surreal. I mean, Christ... The guy's not very big to begin with. Couldn't there have been some other way to subdue him rather than shooting him in the damn stomach?

This has lawsuit written all over it.

[Sonic Reducer 0]

I love the Meat Puppets. This is not good news. But they haven't been together for a while, so...

[Guest Syxx]

This was terrible news. Cris has been battling a heroin addiction for the better part of the last ten years, so much so that he did not even play on their last album. Meat Puppets used to be my fave band before I got into punk but stopped putting stuff out because of Cris' addiction. I really hope that Cris survives this, and that this incident serves as his wakeup call.

[Steviekick 0]

He's doing fine. They mentioned his court appearance this past week.