NATION : Agents Kill Drug Suspect in N.Y.

Undercover federal agents shot and killed a suspected drug dealer near landmark St. Patrick’s Cathedral after the man drove off during a drug deal, authorities said today.

Monday night’s shooting occurred on a street in the middle of Rockefeller Center less than 100 feet from Fifth Avenue after two agents arranged to buy four pounds of cocaine from the man in a car, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said.

Once the agents saw the cocaine, they signaled other agents, who closed in. As the agents identified themselves, the man began to speed off in his Mercedes-Benz. One of the agents, wearing a jacket that said “Nobody Gives Me a Raw Deal,” thrust his arm through a partly open window and was dragged about 100 feet.

The agent fired two shots before rolling off the car into the street, and another agent fired at least one shot. The subject’s car crashed into the back of a bus.