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Westminster man killed in standoff with police

E-mail|Link|Comments () October 26, 2009 03:35 PM

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A Westminster man was shot and killed on Sunday night during a gunfight with police, but authorities have not explicitly said who fired the fatal bullet.

Michael A. Membrino, 49, was wearing body armor when he exchanged gunfire with police outside his home on Minott Road in Westminster, which is 50 miles northwest of Boston along Route 2. Authorities found Membrino near the front of his home suffering from a fatal gunshot wound, according to a press release from the Worcester District Attorney's office.

The press release did not specifically say whether Membrino was shot by police or whether he used the handgun he had been carrying to kill himself. Don Xenos, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, declined to provide any additional details, saying that Membrino's death was under investigation.

Membrino came to the attention of police on Sunday night after he "brandished a handgun while making threats at Partners Pub in Fitchburg," according to the press release. The owner of the bar, Walter Kirby, told the Globe today that Membrino and a female bartender were the only people inside Partners Pub at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday

Membrino "got up to pay his bill last night, and when he reached into his pocket to get money, he also pulled out a gun," Kirby said. "He put his gun on the bar, paid his bill, then left with his gun."

The bartender wrote down Membrino's license plate number when he drove away and called the Fitchburg police, Kirby said.

Police responded to Membrino's home, where gunfire erupted. Membrino was taken to Henry Heywood Hospital in Gardner and pronounced dead.

This death is under investigation by State Police detectives and Westminster police.