(KRON) — A gunman killed in a standoff with South San Francisco police earlier this week has been identified as the founding guitarist of the influential death metal band Possessed.
Police said the gunman was Brian Montana, aged 60.
On Monday, authorities said Montana became involved in a standoff with South San Francisco PD around 5:50 p.m. on the 300 block of Arroyo Drive.
Over the next 25 minutes, the suspect armed himself with three different types of firearms (handgun, shotgun, and rifle) and fired at officers from different locations within the driveway while seeking cover and concealment using vehicles in the driveway and landscaping.
Officers used police vehicles as cover and returned fire. Officers hit Montana in the shootout. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
One resident said the incident stemmed from a dispute over tree trimmings falling into a neighbor’s yard. Police haven’t released information on what they believe sparked the confrontation.
Montana was an original member of Possessed, a pioneering American death metal band. Although Montana left the band in 1985 — to be replaced by future Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde — the band confirmed his death in an Instagram post Wednesday.
While Possessed’s initial run was relatively short — they formed in 1983 and disbanded in 1987 — they are often referred to as the godfathers of death metal, according to AllMusic.
After initially disbanding, Possessed has reformed on numerous occasions, most recently in 2017. “Relations of Oblivion,” the band’s first new music in decades, was released in 2019.
