8-hour standoff ends with Lynn man dead

Police said a distraught man prompted a standoff after threatening to kill himself yesterday at Brookvale Street in Lynn. (DAVID KAMERMAN/GLOBE STAFF)

LYNN - A 37-year-old man who recently moved to Lynn died early yesterday after a dramatic eight-hour standoff during which he threatened to kill himself or police with a handgun, authorities said.

The man was identified as Robert Mangiafico, who had moved to an apartment on Woodman Street, said Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. Lynn police responded to a report of domestic violence there at about 9 p.m. on Sunday, Blodgett said.

As police arrived, Mangiafico bolted from the home armed with a handgun. He was pursued by Lynn police into the driveway of a house on Brookvale Street, where he pointed a pistol to his own throat as stunned residents huddled inside, authorities and witnesses said.

"The individual threatened to harm himself," Blodgett said. Lynn police "did all they could to deescalate the situation."

Lynn police negotiated with him until 11:30 p.m., when the State Police Special Tactical Operations team took over, Blodgett said. State Police also tried to negotiate, he said, until troopers used "nonlethal techniques" to end the standoff after several hours.

Shortly after 5 a.m., Blodgett said, "shots were fired," and Mangiafico was wounded. Because the investigation was incomplete, Blodgett would not say whether Mangiafico shot himself, fired at police, or was shot by police. He was pronounced dead at 5:30 a.m. at North Shore Medical Center Union Hospital in Lynn, Blodgett said.

"My heart went out to that man," said Diane Barton, who with her husband, John, witnessed several hours of the standoff from the windows of their home that overlook the driveway where Mangiafico crouched. He talked with police and spoke with someone on his cellphone, she said. "He was in pain."

John Barton said that during the early part of the standoff, he saw Mangiafico crouching next to a car and pointing a handgun at his own throat. Both Bartons said police were extremely patient with Mangiafico and repeatedly tried to coax him into surrendering.

The Bartons said they drifted off to sleep but were awakened about 5 a.m. by loud noise they thought was the sound of grenades exploding in the driveway. Diane Barton said she was on the first floor when the room was suddenly bright with light.

"We heard a lot of yelling and screaming and shooting, and that was it," said John Barton.

After police rushed Mangiafico and had him in custody, Diane Barton said, she heard one officer shout, "He shot himself in the throat!"

Blodgett would not provide details of the domestic violence incident that preceded the standoff. But an upstairs neighbor who called police said a woman she believed to be Mangiafico's wife burst into her apartment, begging for help. "She was crying," said Sintia Flores. "She came into my apartment and said, 'Please call the police.' "

Yesterday police towed from Woodman Street a white Chrysler with Connecticut plates, a car neighbors said belonged to Mangiafico.

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.