Trooper kills "ninja" robber at gas station

Wearing protective suits, masks, and gloves, police enter the scene at Patriot Fuels at 719 Boston Post Road in Milford, Conn. where a robbery suspect was shot and killed by a state police officer early Wednesday morning, October 23, 2013. The covered body of the suspect lies under a white sheet behind the ice machine at right. less Wearing protective suits, masks, and gloves, police enter the scene at Patriot Fuels at 719 Boston Post Road in Milford, Conn. where a robbery suspect was shot and killed by a state police officer early ... more Photo: Brian A. Pounds Photo: Brian A. Pounds Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Trooper kills "ninja" robber at gas station 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

UPDATE: Friends described Matthew Lofaro as a troubled kid brought down by drug abuse.

Early Wednesday morning Lofaro, 28, was shot to death by State Trooper James Scott while police said Lofaro was in the process of robbing Patriot Fuels gas station in Milford.

The oldest of three sons born to Michael and LeeAnn Lofaro, following graduation from college Matthew Lofaro went to work with his father the owner of Berkeley Exteriors in Milford.

His father hoped that Matt would one day take over the business. Matt also worked part time as a bartender at Bistro Basque in Milford.

MILFORD --A veteran state trooper on patrol during the graveyard shift stops for a bathroom break at an all-night Post Road gas station.

Coming out of the restroom he barely has time to finish drying his hands when he is confronted by a man in a Ninja mask brandishing a machete-type blade at the store clerk, who is cowering behind the counter.

The trooper fired his gun at the suspect, who dropped his weapon on the floor and, bleeding from at least one wound, staggered out of the store to collapse and die Wednesday morning behind the ice machine out front.

More Information Recent fatal shootings by State Police

April 8, 2013: Shortly before 3 p.m., the Old Saybrook Police Department responded to an armed robbery at the Days Inn on Boston Post Road by two men. Old Saybrook police identified a suspect vehicle leaving the area and engaged them in a motor vehicle pursuit. State Police troopers joined the chase. The pursued vehicle fled onto Route 153 in Westbrook where it collided with a state trooper's vehicle. Following this collision, gunfire was exchanged between two male suspects and a State Police Detective Scott Wisner, a 21-year veteran. Jonathan Alvarado, 24, of Deep River, was fatally shot and Wisner was wounded in the shooting.

July 11, 2012: A Connecticut State Trooper lieutenant fatally shot a Torrington man in self-defense after the man charged him with a hunting knife on Route 8 in Torrington. Police identified the man as 78-year-old Frank Escribano and the state police officer as Lt. Clayton Brown, the commanding officer of Connecticut State Police Troop B. An investigation determined that justifiable force was used, and proper protocol was followed.

"I feel bad for this cop," said Joseph Marchio, a retired State Police lieutenant who now runs a private investigations and security company. "You don't want to kill someone, but you also want to stop this guy from killing you and possibly others."

The trooper "confronted the subject inside the station, at which time the subject failed to comply with his directives and he was forced to discharge his weapon," State Police Master Sgt. Donna Tadiello said. "He struck the subject, causing fatal wounds."

It happened at the Patriot Fuels & Food Shop shortly after 3 a.m. The business, at 719 Boston Post Road, is about a mile from the Milford Police Department.

Tadiello said the masked man refused the trooper's order to drop his knife.

The shooting is now under investigation by the state police, who will eventually send a report to Milford State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor, who will make the ultimate decision on whether it was a "good" shooting.

"It will be a thorough investigation," Marchio said. "The state police will investigate every avenue."

Late Wednesday afternoon, there were few signs that the gas station had been the scene of a deadly shooting. The only hint that something was amiss in the neighborhood: three news vans parked next to a used car lot across the street, their antennas raised high in the evening sky, cameras pointed toward the station.

Walking out of the store with a cup of Green Mountain coffee, Milford resident Sandy Simpson said she goes to the store several times per day and knows most of the clerks by name. After the robbery Wednesday, people called her to tell her something had happened at "her gas station," even though she's not an owner.

"These are my friends," she said. "I'm worried sick."

David Antignani Jr. and his fiancee, Kim Scollin, live near the store and said they woke up Wednesday morning to investigators knocking on their door to ask them if they heard or seen any shots.

Antignani said his first question was whether the clerks at the store were OK. The couple was relieved to hear that no one else inside the store was hurt.

"It's a shame that someone lost their life, but you can't ask questions at a time like that, you've got to do what you've got to do," Antignani said of the trooper's action.

State police are not saying how many times the trooper shot the suspect.

But Marchio said it is likely he was shot twice. "You are taught to at least double tap him, two shots in the chest," he said. "You have to stop the threat."

Marchio said in the police academy they undergo hours of not only physical but mental training on what to do if they confront such a threat. But reality is another situation.

"It happens in a split second," he said. "Your adrenaline is so pumped up at that point it becomes hard enough to draw your gun out of the holster, let alone think about killing someone. You just want to stop this guy from coming at you. You need to stop the threat. You have a family, a wife and kids," Marchio said. "You have to, are required to, aim for center mass. If you try to wing him and you miss, he kills you and then what is he going to do to the other people now?"

Marchio repeated that he feels bad for the trooper.

"Now starts the bad dreams, the wondering if he made the right choice," he said. "That doesn't go away for a long time."

dtepfer@ctpost.com; 203-330-6308; http://twitter.com/dantepfer