A former cop was charged with murder on Sunday after he allegedly shot his wife 10 times in front of their two young children as they watched in horror Saturday morning, prosecutors said.
Kevin Canty, 43, shot his wife, Jessica, 40, once in the stomach, twice in her right arm, three times in her chest and four times in her right armpit at their 104th Street home in Ozone Park, Queens, according to prosecutors.
The maniacal former cop confessed to police and said he was distraught because his wife was cheating on him.
“I’m sorry,” Canty said, according to court documents. “I love my wife but she was cheating on me and she’s a whore.”
After the fatal shooting, a neighbor saw the couple’s terrified children, a 4-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, run from the house toward a nearby deli screaming, “Daddy shot Mommy!”
Neighbors also said they could hear the woman shouting before she was shot, “No! No! No!”
After she fell, Canty stood over her and kept firing, a law-enforcement source said.
Jessica died in the ambulance as medics were taking her to Jamaica Hospital.
Canty was nabbed by police after he tried to steal someone’s car on Pitkin Avenue near 97th Street and had a long, drawn-out argument with the victim over whose car it was, according to police sources.
“No, it isn’t. It’s my car,” Canty said repeatedly, according to sources.
When the victim of the attempted carjacking finally called police, cops realized she’d been talking to Canty.
Police rushed to the scene, tackled him, and found the 9mm Smith & Wesson in his waistband, officials said.
There were six bullets left in the weapon.
“He’s clearly not in his right mind,” a police source said. “He’s a bit deranged.”
Canty was then hauled to the 102nd Precinct, where he confessed to shooting his wife but repeatedly said, “She’s not dead. She’s not dead,” sources said.
The former officer joined the NYPD in 1994, and retired on disability last May, sources said.
He was receiving two-thirds of his salary in his pension. It was not disclosed what type of disability he had.
Canty had worked as a transit cop in Manhattan.
He helped save the life of a man who had a heart attack in Union Square in 2012, and the city lauded his efforts on the New York City and NYPD Facebook pages.
Neighbors said the couple often fought, but the police and Administration for Children’s Services were never called before to their residence.
“They were not a happy couple,” said Joanne Bagley, 52. “They fight all the time on the block.”
Others said they were frightened by the former cop.
“He was kind of a silent guy who looked scary and intimidating,” said Danny Ali, 30. “He doesn’t really talk to people too much.”
Bouquets of flowers and candles were placed in Jessica’s memory on the stoop of the family’s Ozone Park residence after the slaying.
Family members and friends also expressed their grief on Facebook.
Relative Amber Canty wrote, “Rest in love, rest in peace, rest in me.”
“Rest in peace, my dear friend Jessica,” wrote pal Richard Eastman. “May my sorrow be the strength to carry your family members through these very difficult times.”
Additional reporting by Priscilla DeGregory, Rebecca Harshbarger, Gabrielle Fonrouge and Reuven Fenton