Dozens lined up in The Bronx Saturday for the viewing of 12-year-old Jacob Freytes, exactly a week after he was shot and killed while biking to a bodega to buy a ball in Mount Eden.
Loved ones are calling for justice following the arrest of a suspect, and the boy’s mother is calling for a new law.
“I got kids of my own. It hits home,” a mourner at the Castle Hill Funeral Home in Parkchester told NBC New York.
Police have arrested 45-year-old William Ferrer in connection with the deadly shooting. He is charged with murder and attempted murder and has pleaded not guilty.
People arrived in droves, including on foot and by bike. Many said they personally knew Jacob, describing him as a good kid from a wonderful family who was respectful to others and looked out for those around him. Some said he once aspired to be a police officer like his father.
NBC New YorkNBC New York
A shirt honors 12-year-old Jacob Freytes, who died from stray bullet one week ago in Mount Eden, The Bronx
“At one point he told me that he wanted to be a cop. He was very passionate at one point,” said friend Simon Garcia. “But that’s when he told me he wanted to be a basketball player and I’m like ‘alright I believe in you.”
“It’s just a heartbreaking moment,” added neighbor Dafne Perez.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City) was among those in attendance.
“This has been a murder that has shaken this entire neighborhood borough and city,” he said at a vigil for Freytes on Friday.
“This may be a new administration, but it’s already too many, too many community responses, too many children being stolen from our city.”
At the same Friday vigil, Jacob’s mother, Migdalia Martinez called on Mamdani to help push legislation in her son’s name that would automatically mean life in prison for anyone who killed a child.
“If someone internally kills a minor, they get life. No, I want reckless (killings) too.”
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.