{"id":308130,"date":"2026-07-28T22:57:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T22:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/308130\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T22:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T22:57:47","slug":"boy-12-killed-by-stray-bullet-in-bronx-wanted-to-become-a-cop-like-his-dad-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/308130\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy, 12, killed by stray bullet in Bronx wanted to become a cop like his dad: mom"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 12-year-old boy gunned down while riding his bicycle<\/a> outside a Bronx bodega wanted to grow up to become a cop like his father, a retired NYPD sergeant, the boy\u2019s mother told the Daily News Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Jacob Freytes was killed as he stepped out of the Wanda Supermarket Deli in Mount Eden when, as he mounted his bike, a stray bullet fired by alleged gunman William Ferrer<\/a> pierced his shoulder about 4:55 p.m. on Saturday, cops said.<\/p>\n

Jacob\u2019s mother said her son worshipped his dad, retired NYPD Sgt. Jesus Freytes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted to be a cop, like his dad,\u201d the victim\u2019s mother, 47-year-old Migdalia Martinez, told The News as she stood in the pouring rain over a makeshift shrine to her son outside her building. \u201cHis father was his hero. He wanted to be just like his father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe saw his father as big and strong, and he wanted to be just as big and just as strong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe mother of Jacob Freytes sits near a memorial for her son outside her Bronx home on Monday, July 27, 2026. (Nicholas Williams \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Video of the shooting shows Jacob fleeing back into the deli at Eliot Place and Grand Concourse as he clutches his shoulder and howls in pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a beautiful boy. He was very loving and a prankster and a jokester,\u201d the boy\u2019s mother recalled. \u201cHe helped a lot of people when he saw he could help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medics rushed Jacob to Lincoln Hospital<\/a>, but he couldn\u2019t be saved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been the worst few days,\u201d said Martinez. \u201cYou think you don\u2019t matter, but then you see how many people come out and support you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JacobJacob Freytes, 12, was fatally shot on Elliot Place in the Bronx on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Freytes was struck when a gunman opened fire after a fight broke out up the street, said police. Two others were wounded , including a 34-year-old man struck in the left foot and a 25-year-old man hit in the buttocks, cops said.<\/p>\n

\"AA memorial for Jacob Freytes is pictured outside the deli where he was fatally shot on Monday, July 27, 2026, in the Bronx. (Nicholas Williams \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Ferrer, 34, was arrested Sunday and charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and assault, among other charges for the deadly shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope he gets what he deserves. I hope he spends the rest of his life in jail,\u201d Jacob\u2019s mother said. \u201cI think this should be a law. There should be a law where, when someone kills a child, they should spend the rest of their days in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferrer has 12 prior arrests between 2004 and 2013, most recently for drug possession. His other arrests were for charges including possession of stolen property, driving without a license, marijuana possession and theft of service, sources said.<\/p>\n

He was ordered\u00a0 held without bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Monday. He is due back in Bronx Criminal Court on July 21.<\/p>\n

\"William<\/p>\n

Rebecca White \/ New York Daily News<\/p>\n

William Ferrer, 45, is pictured in police custody outside the 44th Precinct station house in the Bronx on Sunday, June 26, 2025 after being charged with murder in the shooting death of 12-year-old Jacob Freytes. (Rebecca White \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Friends and family had built the makeshift memorial outside Jacob\u2019s home, located just around the corner from where he was shot, on Monday, filling it with\u00a0lit candles and a sign that read \u201cyou will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad. He was only 12 years old. He didn\u2019t even get a chance to make it to 15, 18,\u201d said Missel Ventura, a family friend. \u201cThis is out of control. All these thugs with the guns, it\u2019s out of control. We are supposed to be protecting these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a sweet person, kind,\u201d said a friend, William Ponc, 16. \u201cI was like, \u2018Damn.\u2019 I was sad hearing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another family friend told The News that Jacob was outside playing with friends when he was fatally shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo man, no woman, no child should go through this. This is tragic,\u201d said Julio Lopez. \u201cThere is nothing we can say or do that will bring Jacob back. We are all heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 12-year-old boy gunned down while riding his bicycle outside a Bronx bodega wanted to grow up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,262,263,266,85,267,9,24,264,12,63,261,265,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-308130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","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-sub-county-region","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308130","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=308130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}