NYPD cop 'shoots wife dead in the street before turning shotgun on himself'

An off-duty policeman shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself in Queens, New York, last night.

Police said the 33-year-old officer chased his wife outside their home in the St Albans area and shot her dead in front of a neighbor's house.

He is said to have used a shotgun to shoot her four times at around before shooting himself dead.

The officer's 46-year-old wife, who also worked for the NYPD as a school safety agent, was said to be wearing her work uniform at the time of the shooting.

She was rushed to Queens General Hospital but died shortly afterwards.

Her husband was found inside the couple's home by police shortly afterwards, reportedly with a gunshot wound to his head.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The area was cordoned off last night as police and forensics investigators worked to piece together what had happened.

A neighbor told CBS New York: 'I just heard, like, about four big booms, and I went to the back and I didn’t see anything, and about 10 minutes later, I saw about four police trucks come in, and she said she heard smoke – this is my friend just coming back to the store. She said she smelled smoke, and she heard big, four booms.'

Police recovered a gun but said that it was not the police officer's standard issue weapon and that they are not sure where the firearm came from.

According to the New York Post, he had his police issue weapon confiscated following a previous domestic incident.

The couple's eight-year-old son, who has not been named, was found unhurt at a relative's house.