Fort Hood hero worked in a Newton Irish bar

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

The police officer who has been hailed as a hero for shooting the attacker in the Fort Hood Army base rampage once worked in an Irish bar in Newton, fellow workers said today.

Kimberly Munley

Sergeant Kimberly D. Munley spent a couple of years as a waitress earlier this decade working at Dunn-Gaherin's, a neighborhood restaurant and bar in Newton Upper Falls, co-owner Seana Gaherin said. As news reports of Munley's actions spread, regular patrons began calling the pub to find out if the woman pictured was the waitress they remember as Kimberly Barbour, Gaherin said.

"I think there's so many people that would love to know that it truly is her," she said, noting that Munley had followed a boyfriend here and remained in Massachusetts for a few years. "We're all happy that she only sustained injuries and she's going to be okay."

Munley played on the Dunn-Gaherin's softball team and once dressed as the Demi Moore character "GI Jane" for Halloween. "She was a tough little lady. She was very energetic," said Laura Kenny, the manager. "I wasn't entirely surprised to hear that she would have done that. That was definitely her character."