PICTURED: Pizza deliveryman, 25, fatally shot four times in the head and neck 'by his NYPD rookie best friend' during a heated argument

A 25-year-old pizza deliveryman from Long Island has been identified as the man who was allegedly killed by an off-duty rookie NYPD cop earlier this week.

Christoper Curro was fatally shot twice in the head and twice in the neck, and left for dead in Famringdale, New York, on Tuesday night. 

On Friday, it was announced that the state Attorney General’s Office has taken over the investigation into the shooting, which is standard procedure whenever an unarmed civilian is killed by a police officer.  

Curro's stepmother, Ellen, told local news outlets that the 25-year-old grew up and was best friends with his alleged killer, 26-year-old Errick Allen, who had recently joined the NYPD and was assigned to a 109th Precinct in Queens. 

+8

+8

NYPD cop Errick Allen, 26 (left), allegedly shot and killed his best friend, Christopher Curro, 25 (right), during a heated argument in Long Island on Tuesday night 

+8

Officers with the Nassau County Police Department responded to the scene in front of a Farmingdale home off Langdon Road at 8.05pm on Tuesday to investigate the homicide

According to the victim's stepmother, Curro was shot five times, including twice in the head, twice in the neck and once in the shoulder, after he and Allen got into a heated argument outside a home off Langdon Road in Farmingdale shortly after 8pm on Tuesday. 

There are still lingering questions about the subject of the men's dispute, with police sources claiming that Allen allegedly opened fire on Curro to prevent him from hurting someone. 

A neighbor who lives near the crime scene told the New York Daily News she heard from Curro's stepmother that the argument between her son and Allen was over a woman, but Ellen has denied saying that.   

The stepmother called Curro's killing an 'execution,' adding that after firing the fatal shots, Allen took off from the scene to go to his father's house, leaving his friend's bullet-riddled body sprawled out in the street. 

'For a cop to do that and leave your best friend for dead ... that’s atrocious,' Ellen said. 'It’s unconscionable. Errick was his best friend. He grew up with Chris. These are not two strangers. They grew up with sleepovers in each other’s houses.'

The stepmother added that her husband - Curro's father - had just lost his mother to the coronavirus.

Curro worked as a deliveryman for Crostini N Broadway, a pizza shop located in Massapequa. 

'We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend,' his employer stated in a Facebook post on Thursday. 'He was quiet, kind, hard working, funny, and an all around good person. We all miss you immensely and you’ll never be forgotten. RIP our dear friend Chris.' 

Speaking at an unrelated event in Oceanside on Wednesday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that the altercation escalated from a verbal disagreement to a physical altercation. 

Commissioner comments on off duty NY cop that allegedly shot friend

Loaded: 0%

Progress: 0%

0:00

Previous

Play

Skip

Mute

Current Time0:00

/

Duration Time1:00

Fullscreen

Need Text

+8

+8

Curro worked as a deliveryman for a Massapequa, New York, pizzeria. He had just lost his paternal grandmother to COVID-19

'There was an altercation between two gentlemen; it started over a conversation they were having,' Ryder said, according to Newsday. 'They met up. A struggle ensued. During that struggle, a weapon was produced and the victim was shot and killed. The person that was involved in that struggle, fighting also with that other individual, was a New York City police officer.' 

Ryder described the victim and the alleged gunmen as being 'childhood friends' who 'grew up together.' 

'It's just an altercation between two individuals and the gun was produced and the individual who was shot was shot in the head and he died last night and the other individual is being discussed with homicide,' said Ryder.

During Mayor de Blasio's Wednesday coronavirus press briefing, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said that the department was informed of the shooting almost immediately.

'An NYPD officer discharged a firearm,' Shea said during the press conference. 'That case is being investigated by the Nassau County District Attorney's office and the Nassau County Police.

He is an NYPD officer that discharged his firearm, ' Shea continued. 'As a result of that discharged, the individual was struck in the head and killed and it is an ongoing and very early part of that investigation.

'We were conferred with almost immediately last night and that is an active investigation.' 

Allen graduated from the academy a few months ago and was assigned to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, Queens, sources told the New York Daily News. 

+8

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that the altercation escalated from a verbal disagreement to a physical altercation

Spoke to the stepmom of the #LongIsland man who was shot dead by NYPD Officer Errick Allen — his “best friend” — on Tuesday night. She says her stepson was shot five times, but can’t understand why.

“This wasn’t self defense. This was an execution.”https://t.co/feBJnRGS4Q pic.twitter.com/vpiBf4emUh

— Esha Ray (@ByEshaRay) May 13, 2020

+8

While he did not name the officer, neighbor and police sources identified the NYPD cop as 26-year-old Errick Allen. Allen is said to have fled the scene before returning later with his father

The rookie cop left the scene and returned home, where he told his father what happened. The pair returned to the scene, soon after. 

But by then, cops had been called by a passing motorist who saw the victim's body in the street.  

'Somebody was driving by and saw the dead body in the street and got out because he thought it was a joke,' neighbor Mary Fanelli, said. 'But then he realized what it was and called 911. Apparently the guy that shot him left the scene and came back.'

 The 62-year-old said that Allen was grilled by police once he returned to the scene. 

+8

A passing motorist saw the body and called police to the scene

'He was sitting on the curb and they were all around him,' she recalled. 'Apparently it was his gun. The other guy was not armed.'

Fanelli said that the two were 'best friends' who graduated from Farmingdale High School.   

Allen has been suspended without pay for 30 days following the shooting, according to NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan.  Authorities are trying to determine whether he should be criminally charged.