Report: Trooper Fatally Shot Masked Robber After Exiting Restroom

Updated 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 24

By Jason Bagley

The state trooper who fatally shot a suspected robber at a Milford gas station early Wednesday reportedly confronted the masked man after exiting the convenience’s store restroom.

The Connecticut Post reports that the veteran state police officer, whose identity has yet to be released, stepped out of the restroom and was met “by a man in a Ninja mask brandishing a machete-type blade at the store clerk.”

State police said the trooper gave the suspect “directives,” which he did not follow.

“The suspect failed to comply with those directives and forced the trooper to discharge his firearm, striking the suspect,” State Police Master Sgt. Donna Tadiello said in a statement. “The male suspect was subsequently pronounced deceased on scene.”

It’s unclear how many shots the trooper fired. The Post reported that the suspect dropped his weapon after being shot and bloodily “staggered out of the store to collapse and die.”

The store clerk was not injured and the trooper suffered only minor injuries, police said. As of Thursday morning, the identity of the suspect was still unknown.

Tadiello said the fatal shooting happened about 3 a.m. Wednesday at the Patriot Fuels gas station at 719 Boston Post Road. She said the trooper stopped at the business “to conduct a patrol check of the area.”

Patriot Fuels is adjacent to Shoreline Motel to the east and has easy access to a highway to the west.

State police is leading the investigation into the fatal shooting. The New Haven Register quotes Tadiello saying the name of the suspect is expected to be released later Thursday.

“It’s a shame that someone lost their life,” a Milford resident who lives near the gas station told the Post, “but you can’t ask questions at a time like that, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Charles Poiselle, a Trumbull resident who works at a restaurant further down the Boston Post Road, looked on Wednesday afternoon as investigators surveyed the crime scene.

“This area over here, you know, it’s Milford,” said Poiselle, adding that he last entered the convenience store a few weeks ago. “I never would have thought.”

Regional Editor Gary Jeanfaivre contributed to this report.