The fatal shot that killed off-duty ATF agent John Capano during an of a Seaford pharmacy on New Year’s Eve may have come from "friendly fire," according to published reports.
Capano of Massapequa was picking up cancer medication at for his elderly father shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday when James McGoey of Hampton Bays entered the store demanding cash and drugs, prompting the ATF agent and two other men to confront the suspect as he fled out the front door. A shootout ensued and both Capano and McGoey were killed.
Law-enforcement sources told the New York Post and ABC News they believe the bullet that struck Capano came from the gun of retired Nassau County police Lt. Christopher Geraghty, 54. Geraghty had responded to the armed robbery along with off-duty New York City Police Officer Joseph Arbia, 29, of Seaford. Geraghty and Arbia had been having lunch at , located next door to Charlie’s Family Pharmacy, at the time of the armed robbery, published reports have stated.
A Nassau County Police Department spokeswoman did not confirm the media reports of how Capano was killed and said the investigation is continuing.
Capano, a graduate, was in his 24th year with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and assigned to the New York Field Division’s Long Island Field Office. He was a member of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI) who had had taught U.S. military and local forces in Afghanistan and Iraq how to investigate blasts.
A funeral mass for Capano is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday at in Seaford followed by burial at St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale. A wake will be held at in Seaford on Wednesday and Thursday with visiting hours on both days from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
