In the early morning hours of a Sunday in August 2020, the life of 23-year-old Madgey Saleh was tragically cut short in a violent encounter on the streets of Queens, New York. Saleh, a resident of the Queensbridge Houses, was standing in front of a deli on 40th Avenue at approximately 3:27 a.m. when a car approached. Without warning, an unknown individual inside the vehicle opened fire, striking Saleh in the abdomen in a brazen drive-by shooting.
First responders found Saleh unconscious
and unresponsive on the pavement. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead at 4:00 a.m. In the immediate aftermath, the New York City Police Department launched an investigation, but no arrests were made, and the suspect or suspects remained at large. The vehicle that carried the shooter had sped off into the night, leaving behind a community shaken by the sudden violence.
More than a year later, insight into the circumstances surrounding Saleh's death emerged as part of a larger crackdown on gang-related violence in the area. In August 2021, the Queens County District Attorney's Office announced a major indictment against numerous alleged members of rival street gangs operating in and around the Queensbridge and Ravenswood public housing developments. Within the announcement of this law enforcement action, Madgey Saleh's killing was officially described as 'as-yet-unsolved.' It was revealed that Saleh was allegedly associated with a gang known as the Makk Ballers, and his death was noted as part of a violent feud between this group and other local factions. Despite the broad scope of the gang indictment, specific suspects in Saleh's murder were not publicly identified, and the case remains an open investigation.
