Man shot dead on Corona corner

Although police claim that the shooting that took the life of David Deleo, known as Salty, was gang related, many who knew of him said that this was not necessarily the case.
Police say that Deleo was a member of the Latin Kings street gang, and that he and another gang member were confronted by gang members of La Familia, according to published reports.
The police report says that on Sunday, April 22, at approximately 1:20 a.m., the 22-year-old, who lived at 125-15 14th Avenue in College Point, was shot once in the chest by an unknown assailant, at the corner of Martense Avenue and 104th Street in Corona. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no arrests, and the investigation was ongoing.
By Monday afternoon, at the corner where Deleo died, a street shrine had sprung up, replete with a statuette of the Blessed Virgin Mary, candles, and messages. Around it, neighborhood kids who would not give their names, revealed attitudes which will make the ongoing investigation difficult.
“It didn’t have anything to do with gangs,” said Crystal, as she transcribed a poem from her notebook onto a wall poster. “When it’s your time, that’s it,” she says.
Another young girl, who would not give a name at all, nodded in agreement and added, “Just because he was in a gang doesn’t make it gang related. Sometimes [stuff] happens.”
At one of the bodegas that seem to dot every corner in this part of Corona, you get the street news and commentary. The news is that Deleo was attempting to intervene in a dispute between acquaintances of two people he knew. He had a reputation as a reasonable person, not a troublemaker, and his attempt at street-diplomacy cost him his life.