Original Possessed Guitarist Killed in Police Shootout

Brian Montana, the original guitarist for the classic death metal band Possessed, was killed in a police shootout in San Francisco earlier this week.

According to The Daily Journal, Montana was involved in a dispute with his neighbor in South San Francisco on Monday (April 28). Authorities said it started because Montana was bothered by the neighbor's tree branches and leaves falling in his yard.

The police were dispatched when they received reports that Montana threatened his neighbor with a gun. By the time they arrived the situation had escalated, and Montana was firing multiple guns at the neighbor's home, prompting them to call for backup.

Montana then fired at the police from his driveway, seeking cover between vehicles and landscaping, but was ultimately shot dead on the scene. He was 60 years old. The neighbor was taken to the hospital after sustaining a graze wound during the shootout.

“On the shooter’s side, there was some alcohol involved,” District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. “His death is a tragedy, but it’s fortunate that nobody else wasn’t hit or injured more seriously.”

Montana's identity was revealed by authorities the following day.

Montana's Time in Possessed

Montana joined Possessed in 1983 after seeing an ad for a guitarist that founding members Mike Torrao and Mike Sus put up in the Bay Area. The group recorded a demo called Death Metal in '84, and Montana left later that year.

"After I joined the band, yes, we hung out together a lot. I was the original guitarist besides Torrao, so when I joined we were still just a garage band; didn’t even have our first gig yet. After we started playing the clubs, we bonded more and had a lot more fun with it," Montana told Voices From the Darkside in an interview.

“I left the band because Torrao had a terrible attitude problem and wouldn’t stop ragging at me. He was like some senile old lady that just wouldn’t shut up. He had a problem with my image. He didn’t think I was evil enough or something. He was always ragging on me to wear an upside down crucifix and be satanic."

Possessed Vocalist Jeff Becerra Is Paralyzed From a Gunshot Wound

Longtime vocalist Jeff Becerra was left paralyzed after being shot by two armed robbers in 1989. Possessed had broken up, and the vocalist was working a construction job when the incident took place.

Becerra recalled buying a pack of cigarettes from a store and being cornered by the two assailants on his way out. They demanded he give them his money, and he resisted.

"We scuffled, there was no way out of it and I ended up getting shot a couple of times. The first guy pushed a 9-millimeter to my chest. It broke through the ribs and shattered the lungs and stuck on in the spine, so I still have a 9-millimeter slug stuck on the vertebrate T3," he said in a 2019 interview with The Underground Metal Gamer [via Blabbermouth].

"I think the second guy was covering me from about 15 feet away, so there was nowhere to run. It was more like a knee-jerk reaction because the first shot was 'Pow!' and right after, 'Pow!'"

In September of 2021, the vocalist walked for the first time in over 30 years with the assistance of robotic legs.