Music agent Dave Shapiro and ex-Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams die in San Diego plane crash

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By ( Metal Hammer, Louder ) published

Shapiro and Williams died in a crash that injured eight people on the ground and is presumed to have killed six overall

Daniel Williams drumming for The Devil Wears Prada in 2012
(Image credit: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images)

Celebrated music agent Dave Shapiro and former The Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams are among those who’ve died in a San Diego plane crash.

The two, alongside four others, were flying in a small plane that crashed in Southern California in the early hours of this morning (May 23). Eight people on the ground were injured, with nearby cars and homes in the neighbourhood of Murphy Canyon being “ignited”, per The Independent.

Though Shapiro, 42, and Williams, 39, are the only named fatalities so far, no survivors from onboard the plane have been found. It is currently unclear what caused the crash.

Shapiro was the co-founder of Sound Talent Group, two employees of which were also on the Cessna 550 flight. The company have represented Canadian pop-punks Sum 41, US pop group Hanson and a litany of metal artists, including Killswitch Engage, Zakk Wylde, In This Moment, Tesseract, Loathe, Malevolence, Lamb Of God, Amorphis, Leprous, Animals As Leaders and Beartooth.

Shapiro also founded independent label Velocity Records and was recognised as a rising figure in the music business in Billboard’s “30 Under 30” list in 2012. A spokesperson confirmed the agent’s death in a statement to Billboard.

“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” said Sound Talent Group’s representative. “Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”

Williams co-founded The Devil Wears Prada in 2005 and parted ways with the metalcore band in 2016. Following his departure, he stepped away from the music industry, taking jobs at GoPro and, as he announced via X (formerly Twitter) earlier this month, Apple.

Williams’ death is yet to be confirmed by authorities, but he was identified as a victim in the crash by his father in a statement to TMZ. The ex-drummer posted images from the flight to his Instagram story.

The Devil Wears Prada have paid tribute to Williams on social media.

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Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Online Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.