Demetri McKay, Jr., 29, will have his funeral at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Hollis, where his father is a deacon and he served as an usher when he was younger.
Photo via Facebook
A deacon at a southeast Queens church is thanking his community for the outpouring of love and support his family has experienced since his son and namesake was murdered at a Kew Gardens burger bar last month.
As an NYPD manhunt for two suspected killers has passed the two-week mark with no arrests, Demitri McKay, Sr. is preparing for his son’s funeral on Friday, April 10, at his Mt. Olivet Baptist Church of Hollis, where Demetri McKay, Jr. served as an usher as a younger man.
The 29-year-old MTA bus driver was an innocent bystander on a date with his girlfriend during the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 24, when two gunmen entered the Hangar 11 Burgers & Brews on Metropolitan Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. and walked to the dining area where they confronted a group of people at a table near the couple and engaged in a gang-related argument. The suspects pulled out handguns and fired multiple shots, and McKay was struck in the left arm by a stray bullet that traveled to his chest and struck his heart.
EMS rushed him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“If those people who shot my son, if they had gotten to know my son, they wouldn’t have killed my son,” the victim’s father said in an emotionally charged video he posted to social media in the days after the homicide. “My son had such a big heart, and they shot my son in his heart. If they had gotten to know my son, they would have loved him too, because everyone loved my son. Guys, I don’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
Demetri McKay, Sr. spoke of his son who was murdered last month in a Kew Gardens burger bar while he was on a date with his girlfriend.Photo via Facebook
McKay, Jr. left behind a 8-year-old son and the extended family lived together in a home on 216th Street in Queens Village. McKay, Sr. said his son loved working for the MTA and drove his Q22 bus up and down Hollis Avenue.
“My son meant so much to me, I poured all I had into him,” he said. “I talked to him about staying out of trouble and being respectable to his elders. My son was beautiful. He was the protector; he was the peacemaker in my family. He always looked after his sisters, his nieces, his nephews. He was just that guy.”
Demetri McKay Jr. with his 8-year-old son Cameron.Photo via Facebook
He closed his video with a message directly to the southeast Queens community.
“What I want to come out of this, I want love to come out of this because my son, he loved people,” McKay Sr. said through tears. “When I talk about our community, I’m talking about our Black community. We go through so much, it’s like the whole world’s against us, and then we turn against each other. It’s not good guys, and we ‘ve got to stop and think about what we’re doing. We can’t hurt each other. We’ve got to love each other and that’s all I want. I’m going to promote love and peace.”
Police are still looking for the two gunmen who opened fire inside the restaurant, striking McKay Jr. with a stray bullet. He was rushed by EMS to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.Photos courtesy of the NYPD
The NYPD is still searching for the two suspects. One hauntingly wore a black hooded sweatshirt with the word Love in white lettering across the chest, black sweatpants, black sneakers and a black face covering. The second gunman wore a pink track suit, a black face covering, and white sneakers. The celebration of life and funeral of Demetri McKay, Jr. starts at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 10, at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church of Hollis, located at 202-03 Hollis Avenue, where he drove the Q22 MTA bus.