{"id":176472,"date":"2026-03-26T20:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/176472\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T20:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:52:09","slug":"mta-bus-driver-shot-at-queens-burger-joint-was-bystander-killed-in-botched-gang-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/176472\/","title":{"rendered":"MTA bus driver shot at Queens burger joint was bystander killed in botched gang hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

An MTA bus driver shot inside a Queens burger joint<\/a> was an innocent bystander on a date killed in a botched gang hit, according to police sources and his heartbroken father.<\/p>\n

Demetri McKay Jr., 29, was taking his girlfriend out on the town when he was shot, the bullet passing through his arm and into his chest and heart at Hangar 11 Burgers & Brews<\/a> in Kew Gardens at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son had such a big heart. And they shot my son in his heart,\u201d the victim\u2019s father, Demetri McKay Sr., told the Daily News Thursday through tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they would\u2019ve gotten to know my son, they would\u2019ve loved him too \u2014 because everybody loved my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two masked men entered the restaurant on Metropolitan Ave. near Lefferts Blvd. to shoot an adversary in what investigators believe was a gang-related beef but instead hit McKay Jr., an unintended target, police sources said Thursday.<\/p>\n

McKay Jr. had no criminal history, police say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re devastated. I\u2019m numb. I\u2019m totally crushed. I\u2019m thinking about my son. I can\u2019t stop. I can\u2019t even sleep. I can\u2019t eat,\u201d said his father, who is a church deacon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish nobody got shot. Even if they came to target [someone else] I wouldn\u2019t even want anybody else shot. I don\u2019t believe in violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DemitriDemitri McKay Jr. (right) with his father Demitri McKay Sr. (Courtesy of Family)<\/p>\n

A Queens Village native and father to an 8-year-old boy, McKay Jr. previously worked with the disabled at a nonprofit organization located nearby the restaurant where he was shot, his father said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was familiar with the place,\u201d the victim\u2019s father said. \u201cHis co-workers always said it was always a decent place. It\u2019s not like it was a rowdy place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The father described his son as a homebody, noting it was unusual for him to even be out at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son was family-oriented. He didn\u2019t hang out in the streets. He didn\u2019t care for that,\u201d said McKay Sr. \u201cHe just happened to go on a date with his girlfriend. He took her there because it was safe. He was familiar with the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday the NYPD released surveillance footage<\/a> of the two suspects inside the restaurant and asked the public\u2019s help identifying them and tracking them down.<\/p>\n

One suspect wore a dark-colored hoodie with the word \u201cLove\u201d emblazoned across the chest in large letters. No arrests have been made.<\/p>\n

\"PoliceDemitri McKay Jr. was shot and killed at Hangar 11 in Kew Gardens, police said. (Gardiner Anderson \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son is gone, and even if they catch [the suspects], it\u2019s not going to bring my son back,\u201d the father said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw the video of them it looked like they\u2019re young kids. Even if they go to prison, I\u2019m praying for them,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t know their circumstances. I don\u2019t know their homes. My heart goes out for them, because I don\u2019t know what they\u2019ve been through in their life. I want them to get rehabilitation, not just prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay Jr., who began working as an MTA bus driver<\/a> in 2024, drove the Q2<\/a>, which runs from Jamaica to the Belmont Park Racetrack.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe drove the bus in his neighborhood. He loved his job. Everybody on his job, they loved my son,\u201d his father said. \u201cHe was a young man, 29, he was just really starting off his career. I was so proud of him. He\u2019s a go-getter.\u201d<\/p>\n

While training for the job, McKay Jr. met his girlfriend, who also works for the MTA, his father said.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice investigate after Demitri McKay Jr. was shot to death at Hangar 11 in Kew Gardens, according to authorities. (Gardiner Anderson \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

McKay Jr. still lived with his parents in the house he grew up in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the greatest. He was an angel on Earth,\u201d said McKay Jr.\u2019s mother, who declined to share her name. \u201cEverybody has great things to say about him. Never in trouble. Best in school. He was always the best in everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay Sr. described his son as a loving person who had a knack for taking care of everyone around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looked out for all of us. He came to our needs, sent us personal texts to cheer us up,\u201d the father said. \u201cHe was a great listener. And I\u2019m his dad. Even when I\u2019m going through something, he\u2019ll just sit on my steps and he\u2019ll talk to me. He\u2019s almost like a counselor. A really beautiful person.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay Jr., who stood 6-foot-2, enjoyed playing basketball and working out in his free time. He would have turned 30 in August.<\/p>\n

\"ShootingShooting victim Demitri McKay Jr. (right) with his father, Demitri McKay Sr. (Facebook)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a lot of silliness about him. He loved to make you laugh, make you smile. He did silly dances. He\u2019d make his mother laugh,\u201d McKay Sr. said, adding that his son was a true \u201cmama\u2019s boy,\u201d as the youngest child in the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said \u2018Mom, Dad, I\u2019m gonna take care of you guys when you get old,\u2019\u201d McKay Sr. recalled. \u201cThat\u2019s what he wanted to do. He was really a family man.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay Sr. said he worries now about his grandson, who has to grow up without a father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe understands, but you know he\u2019s 8 years old and he\u2019s very sad about it,\u201d he said. \u201cHe may not even believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to stay strong for my wife and children,\u201d the father added. \u201cThis is a heartbreaker. It\u2019s a nightmare. I\u2019m still waiting to wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An MTA bus driver shot inside a Queens burger joint was an innocent bystander on a date killed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[262,263,266,85,267,9,24,264,12,63,261,122,124,123,265],"class_list":["post-176472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-city","tag-county","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-county","tag-news","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-crime","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-sub-county-region"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}