Another One Bites the Dust

I wish the story I had today had a happy ending, but sadly, it doesn't.   A good friend of mine going back to high school, died yesterday.  Its a bizarre story, and not all the details are even known yet.  I first found out from the gentleman whose house I am currently painting.  My friend who died had referred me to this current customer of mine as he and his dad (who he worked for at the time) were replacing all the windows on the house.  Their part of the job had largely wrapped up and our mutual customer was texting my friend's dad about something.  The response he received was, "It doesn't matter, Matt's dead."   So right off the bat, something didn't seem right, and it bothered me that nothing was known or shared about how he actually died.   I tried finding out what had happened.  I placed a few calls with no response and finally, out of desperation to simply just know, I posted a question on Facebook to see if anyone had heard what had happened to my friend.  Well, that last option worked because my brother had actually heard what had happened from another one of Matt's friends.  So let's jump back quickly to early yesterday morning.  There was a robbery that occurred around 3:30 at a convenience store at a gas station.  While the robbery was allegedly in progress, a state trooper walked in, saw what was happening, and tried to stop the robbery.  He allegedly told the robber what to do, and upon the robber failing to listen, was "forced to discharge his weapon", killing the robber.  As it turns out, the robber had a mask on and appeared to be threatening the store clerk with a machete type blade.  Well, that robber was my friend, someone who I could never in a million years picture doing something like that.  His name, while not being released by the police, is Matt Lofaro.  Something about this whole situation isn't sitting right with me.  If what the police say is true and Matt was actually robbing the place, I will still be in disbelief that he could have committed such an act.  For anyone who knew Matt Lofaro, I think they would agree with me.  If asked on Tuesday if he could ever do something like that, I would have to say not in a million years.  Whatever got him into that situation, I don't know, but it still bothers me now.

Matt Lofaro was one of the nicest, most genuine people I have known.  Whenever I talked to him, some of the first questions out of his mouth were always how my family and I were doing.  He was down to earth, had just gotten a new job with a company that installs solar panels and had recently tried his hand at stand up comedy.  When last I was in touch with him, about a week and a half to two weeks ago, he seemed to be doing really well.  There was no indication that something like this could ever transpire.  Even the gentleman who I am working for had said on numerous occasions that Matt was one of the nicest people he had ever met.  They even went out for drinks after only meeting a few times.  He was the type of person who always looked out for his friends, helping them when he could and never asking for favors.  Such was the nature of the Matt Lofaro I knew.  I find it very hard to believe that in the course of two weeks, something could have happened which made him stoop to the level of robbery.  Its just not in the realm of the possible for me.  Details are still sketchy about what actually transpired yesterday morning at the gas station on the Post Road in Milford, but all I have to say is that he better have actually posed a threat to the officer who shot him.  At this point, I am mourning the loss of a friend, not a robber as most people will now know him.  The majority of people who read the news will assume that Matt was a criminal, destined to be downed by an officer's bullet at some point or at least destined for a jail cell.  One event will dictate how everyone views the rest of his previous life.  "There must have been some indications."  "He must have just been a bad apple."  He wasn't, and in my mind, however naive it may seem, he will never be a criminal.  Wherever you are now, Matt, know that you were loved by many.  Your life ended way to soon but may you rest in peace now.