Shootout with police leaves man dead
A Westminster man was shot and killed Sunday night during a gunfight with police, but authorities have not 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, who worked at a state prison, near the front of his home suffering from a fatal gunshot wound, according to a statement from the Worcester district attorney’s office.
District Attorney Joseph D. Early’s statement did not specifically say whether Membrino was shot by Westminster police or whether he used the handgun he had been carrying to kill himself. Don Xenos, a spokesman for Early’s office, declined to provide additional details, saying that Membrino’s death was under investigation.
Membrino was a correction officer at North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner, according to Diane Wiffin, spokeswoman for the state Department of Correction.
Membrino became involved with police Sunday night after he “brandished a handgun while making threats at Partners Pub in Fitchburg,’’ according to the DA’s office.
The owner of the bar, Walter Kirby, told the Globe yesterday that Membrino and a female bartender were the only people inside the pub at 7:30 p.m. 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 Fitchburg police, Kirby said. Westminster police responded to Membrino’s home.
After the shooting, Membrino was taken to Heywood Hospital in Gardner and pronounced dead.
Membrino’s death is under investigation by State Police detectives and Westminster police.