Police in California have shot and killed guitarist Brian Montana from pioneering death metal band Possessed after officers responded to a violent confrontation with a neighbor that escalated into an exchange of gunfire.
The 60-year-old musician was fatally shot Monday night after South San Francisco officers were called in response to a report that a man was threatening a neighbor with a gun after a dispute over some yard waste.
According to the South San Francisco Police Department, the incident started just before 6 PM when police received a 911 call about a man who allegedly waved a firearm during an argument over tree trimmings.
When the officers arrived on the scene, Montana was armed and aggressive. According to CBS, the situation escalated into a shootout that reportedly went on for nearly half an hour, with Montana firing different types of guns while hiding behind cars and other landscaping.
SSFPD said in a statement, "[Montana] fired multiple times at officers using a handgun, shotgun, and rifle ... Officers used patrol cars as cover and returned fire. The suspect was struck and ultimately pronounced deceased at the scene."
During the exchange of gunfire, one of the neighbors was hit, but police said their wounds were not believed to be life-threatening.
Metal Legacy Marked by Violence
Montana was one of the original guitarists in Possessed, the Bay Area metal band, which many credit as having built the death metal sound in the 1980s. The band emerged alongside heavyweights like Metallica, Death Angel, and Testament.
It isn't the first time someone from Possessed has been at the wrong end of a gun — his death is the second shooting incident involving a member of the death metal band. Loudwire added that vocalist Jeff Becerra was shot during a robbery in 1989, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.
As of Thursday, police had announced no additional information about the investigation.
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