ATF agent interrupting robbery apparently killed by friendly fire

The ATF agent shot to death New Year's Eve while foiling a pharmacy holdup in Seaford, L.I., was accidentally killed by a retired cop also trying to thwart the robbery, according to published reports.

John Capano, 41 - a senior agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a married father of two - went to Charlie's Family Pharmacy to pick up cancer medication for his father, James, on Saturday afternoon. Outside the store's entrance, he confronted a twice-paroled ex-con, James McGoey, 43, of Hampton Bays, who had allegedly robbed the place at gunpoint, according to the New York Post.

Meanwhile, Chris Garaghty, 54, the retired Nassau County police officer who owned the nearby Seaford Deli, and off-duty NYPD cop Joseph Abria, 29, were rushing to the scene after hearing that a robbery was under way. Upon arrival, Garaghty and Abria apparently opened fire, the Post reported, killing McGoey at the scene and wounding Capano, who later was pronounced dead at Nassau University Medical Center. Authorities believe that Garaghty fired the fatal shot that killed Capano, said the paper.

Capano had served 23 months in Iraq and Afghanistan and recently buried his mother, Helen, who died of breast cancer on Dec. 18. Capano, said his father James, who is himself a retired NYPD detective, was "an excellent person, the best."

(with Newsday)