US Army veteran and gang member-turned music producer is shot dead by 'former rivals' in hail of bullets while recording music video

A US Army veteran-turned gang member who then became a music producer has been shot dead by 'former rivals' in a hail of bullets while recording a music video. 

David Beckhauser Santos Herold, 34, was reportedly shot 32 times in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Wednesday, according to the country's G1 news outlet.

Mr Beckhauser Santos Herold was a former US army soldier who served between 2008 and 2013 and saw action in Afghanistan during this time. 

Known as 'The American', he then turned to a life of crime and was involved in an ongoing gang feud, according to reports.

He had previously been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death of drug dealer Thiago Polucena de Oliveira, on March 26, 2014 during a battle over controlling drug distribution territory.

From October 2023 he was serving the rest of his sentence on house arrest. 

Local media reported that he was gunned down by rivals while recording a video for the singer Bernardo Soares da Rosa, 20, known as 'Boladin 211' in the northern area of Sao Paulo on Wednesday night. 

Gunmen reportedly arrived and fired 60 shots at the US Army, with 32 of the bullets hitting him.

The victim's homicide conviction from a previous faction war with rival gangs meant that he was still wanted by the police - local media reported.

After the deadly shooting, he was rushed to hospital but did not survive.

Investigators believe that he was killed as a result of  the ongoing feud between criminal factions. Local media reports say that Mr Beckhauser Santos Herold was affiliated with a faction in Santa Catarina, a state in southern Brazil, where he was born and lived after returning from the States.

The investigation into the deadly shooting is ongoing.