Jake E. Lee had ‘verbal confrontation’ before he was shot in Las Vegas

Jake E. Lee, a former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, said he encountered “a couple of thieves” and engaged in a confrontation with the masked group before he was shot numerous times in Las Vegas last week.

The 67-year-old rocker, who was struck three times during a “completely random” attack on Oct. 15, had the violent run-in with the dastardly crew while walking his dog, Coco.

“Walking home from our walk Coco and I crossed paths with a couple of thieves. Dressed darkly, hoodies pulled down their faces and masks covering their mouths. Standing in a neighbor’s driveway checking out his motorcycle,” Lee wrote on Facebook Sunday.

“There was a verbal confrontation which ended with an agreement that I would walk one way and they would walk the opposite. That didn’t work out. I’ll probably talk in more detail about it later but right now I can only comfortably do a little at a time.

“Let me look for another cute pic of Coco!”

Following the shooting, Lee was taken to “an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital,” according to a statement shared by his representative.

“Las Vegas authorities believe the shooting was completely random and occurred while Lee took his dog out for a walk in the early morning hours. As the incident is under police investigation, no further comments will be forthcoming. Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time.”

Lee wrote that police found 15 shell casings at the scene and that at least one of the thieves had emptied their entire clip trying to shoot him.

“I could only dodge so many so one bullet went through my forearm, one through my foot and one in the back which broke a rib and damaged a lung,” the guitarist wrote on Facebook Thursday.

“Priority now is to keep draining my lung till it’s done crying. Then we can pull that tube out and concentrate on the more minor injuries.”

Lee served as the lead guitarist for Osbourne from 1982 to 1985 and was included on the “Bark at the Moon” and “The Ultimate Sin” albums before he was replaced by Zakk Wylde.

He was also a member of heavy metal band Badlands and later formed Red Dragon Cartel in 2013.