Oxygen Insider Exclusive!

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up for Free to View
Crime News Breaking News

NYC Man Allegedly Shot To Death In Front Of Wife Because 'He Flicked A Cigarette'

Curtis Holley was out for an evening stroll in his Bronx neighborhood when he got into an ultimately fatal altercation with three men on the street, police said.

By Connor Mannion
Curtis Holley Fb

A New York City man was out for an evening stroll with his wife when he was shot dead over a flicked cigarette butt, police say.

Curtis Holley, 36, was finishing up a cigarette while walking with his wife near their home in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx, according to the New York Daily News. The harmless walk took a deadly turn when Holley flicked his spent cigarette in the direction of three men on the street.

“He flicked a cigarette,” a police source told The New York Post. “It just happened to be in the direction of three individuals. He didn’t mean to do it.”

One of the three men pulled out a gun and shot Holley in the torso after a verbal confrontation, authorities said. Holley was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Some people who knew Holley remembered him as a kind person.

“Every time I’d see him he was on the elevator with his wife and we would talk,” neighbor Donna Prophete told the Daily News. “He’s a nice guy though. He was very friendly.”

Holley was one of three people shot to death that weekend across the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, AM New York reported. The city itself has seen a dramatic rise in homicides and shootings compared to last year, according to NBC New York.

No arrests have been made in Holley's shooting and the gunman has not yet been identified, the NYPD has said.

Anyone with information about Holley's shooting is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are confidential.

Read more about: