A 12-year-old was fatally shot while riding his bike outside a Bronx bodega, authorities in New York City announced on Sunday, July 26, in what city leaders called a senseless act of violence.

The child, identified as Jacob Freytes, was killed after a man opened fire on a Bronx street in broad daylight a day earlier in the city’s Mt. Eden neighborhood, the New York Police Department told USA TODAY. The shooting, which occurred just before 5 p.m. ET local time, also wounded two others: a 25-year-old man who was shot in the buttocks and a 34-year-old man who was shot in the foot, police said.

The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The two other men were also hospitalized and are expected to survive, police said.

Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work the scene and place down evidence markers to highlight shell casings where a 12-year-old boy was killed, and two men were injured in a shooting outside a supermarket deli in the Bronx, New York, on July 25, 2026.

Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work the scene and place down evidence markers to highlight shell casings where a 12-year-old boy was killed, and two men were injured in a shooting outside a supermarket deli in the Bronx, New York, on July 25, 2026.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the arrest of William Ferrer in connection with the triple shooting. Ferrer, 45, of the Bronx, was arrested by detectives outside his home Sunday morning.

He faces charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, the commissioner said.

Tisch said it did not appear the boy was the intended target of gunfire.

“Jacob was an innocent bystander on his bike when he was taken from his family yesterday in an act of senseless gun violence,” Tisch wrote on X. “No arrest can ever ease the pain of this unimaginable loss, but the NYPD will continue to do everything in our power to seek justice for Jacob.”

Photos taken from the scene show investigators placing yellow evidence markers outside the bodega and a black-and-silver bicycle on the ground.

She survived being shot in the face. Then came nearly 40 surgeries.

Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work the scene and place down evidence markers to highlight shell casings where a 12-year-old boy was killed, and two men were injured in a shooting outside a bodega in the Bronx, New York, on July 25, 2026.

Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work the scene and place down evidence markers to highlight shell casings where a 12-year-old boy was killed, and two men were injured in a shooting outside a bodega in the Bronx, New York, on July 25, 2026.

NYC Mayor Mamdani: ‘We cannot accept this violence as normal’

Local leaders, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, denounced the violence on social media.

“Our children should be able to ride their bikes on a nice summer day in their neighborhood without fear of being shot. We cannot accept this violence as normal,” Mamdani said in a post on X. “My heart breaks for his family, friends and all those who loved him. Their loss is unimaginable. I am praying for the speedy recovery of the other two victims of this shooting.”

“Just an imaginable pain,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said in a video posted on X. “I’m disgusted… it is unacceptable that we continue to see violence in our neighborhood that takes away our babies… we’ve got to find better ways to address conflict.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). People can also submit a tip on this website.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man charged after fatal shooting of 12-year-old outside NYC bodega