Saturday Links Driver Tosses Grenade Out Car Window While Fleeing CHP In North Berkeley

Brian Montana, the founding guitarist of the Bay Area death metal band Possessed, was fatally shot by police during a standoff in South San Francisco on Wednesday. Officers responded to the scene after Montana allegedly fired at them, escalating from a neighborhood dispute over tree debris. In a separate incident, a driver fleeing the California Highway Patrol in a stolen car threw a grenade from the window in North Berkeley, prompting a neighborhood evacuation. The University of California Police Department's bomb squad quickly secured the device and declared the area safe shortly after 5 p. m.

Meanwhile, a tragic head-on crash near Yellowstone claimed the lives of seven individuals, including six foreign nationals. The investigation into the collision is ongoing, with several others sustaining injuries. In the arts sector, numerous Bay Area nonprofits received sudden notifications that their NEA grants were canceled due to shifting priorities under the Trump administration. Notable organizations affected include SCRAP, The Lab, and the Oakland Theater Project.