Former The Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams survived a mass shooting in his home state of Ohio years before dying in a plane crash in a San Diego neighborhood on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
The crash also killed music industry big shot David Shapiro.
Williams’ death also comes six years after he survived a mass shooting in his home state of Ohio.
The drummer revealed he had a lucky escape from inside the Ned Peppers bar in Dayton when gunman Connor Betts opened fire, killing nine victims and wounding 27 others, on August 4, 2019. Betts was shot dead by cops during his rampage.
“I was in Ned Peppers. I’m still not sure exactly what happened. People were piling on top of each other to get out. It’s all a blur. F–king awful,” Williams posted on X at the time.
Hours before the plane crashed, Williams snapped pictures of the doomed Cessna 550 aircraft before they boarded on the runway at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on Wednesday night.
“Flying back with @davevelocity,” the drummer captioned the post on his Instagram story.
Williams, who was an original member of the band, was also seen inside the cockpit of the private plane in two of his posts.
“Hey. Hey… you… look at me… I’m the (co)pilot now,” Williams, 39, wrote with a view of the aircraft controls and windshield.
“Here we goooooo,” the second post reads, with the yoke between his legs.
Williams and Shapiro were among six people on board the jet when it hit a power line in foggy weather and crashed in Murphy Canyon, a San Diego neighborhood housing military families, around 3:45 a.m. Thursday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Officials have yet to ID all on board, but said there were no survivors. Miraculously, no one on the ground was killed or seriously wounded.
Williams’ former Devil Wears Prada band members confirmed the 39-year-old’s death in social media posts Thursday.
“No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever,” the band wrote in an Instagram post.
Williams joined The Devil Wears Prada during its inception in 2005 before he left the band in 2016.
Just a week before he was killed, Williams revealed that he had accepted an engineering job at Apple.
“I’m very excited to share that I’ve accepted a software engineering role at Apple. It’s been really tough to say goodbye to my friends and colleagues of nearly 8 years at GoPro, but it’s time for my next chapter. It’s time to help build the future,” he wrote in the May 14 post.
Shapiro, 42, co-founded Sound Talent Group (STG), whose clients include bands Sum 41, Story of the Year and Parkway Drive. His talent agency confirmed his death.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends … Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time,” the agency said in a statement shared with Billboard.
The two men were lovingly remembered by music industry insiders across social media.
“Rest in Peace Dave Shapiro, Daniel Williams, and everyone on that flight. Some of my very first shows were booked through Dave. I had a handful of shows with Daniel, always a pleasure to see him play. Gone way too soon,” music executive Terrance Coughlin wrote on X.
