{"id":309959,"date":"2026-07-30T17:13:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/309959\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T17:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:13:50","slug":"mom-of-12-year-old-killed-by-stray-bullet-in-the-bronx-says-city-has-only-gotten-safer-for-criminals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/309959\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom of 12-year-old killed by stray bullet in The Bronx says city has only gotten safer for criminals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The anguished mother of the 12-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet <\/a>outside a Bronx bodega said the city has gotten more dangerous as criminals no longer fear consequences \u2014 and her son\u2019s murder is just the latest example.<\/p>\n

\u201cCriminals feel more safe now than ever,\u201d Migdalia Martinez, 47, told The Post just days after the senseless killing of her son, Jacob Freytes, whose father is a retired NYPD cop.<\/p>\n

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch sent 200 more cops to patrol the borough<\/a> this spring in an effort to reverse a troubling uptrend of violent crime, which has stubbornly persisted despite steady improvements in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.<\/p>\n

Grieving mother Migdalia Martinez told The Post that New York City has gotten more dangerous as criminals no longer fear consequences \u2014 and her son\u2019s murder is just the latest example. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cCriminals feel more safe now than ever,\u201d Migdalia Martinez, 47, told The Post just days after the senseless killing of her son, Jacob Freytes.<\/p>\n

The boy was \u201cstruck in the chest\u201d during the Saturday evening burst of gun violence, and later died at a Bronx hospital, according to the criminal complaint. Provided by family<\/p>\n

But Martinez believes the problem lies with the courts, which she says are \u201cholding the hand\u201d of criminals after cops risk their lives getting them off the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no more doing time for misdemeanors. There\u2019s no bail \u2026 People are just walking free with the possibilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system works more for the criminal than they\u2019re gonna work for the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Career criminal William Ferrer, 45, was arraigned Sunday night<\/a> on murder, assault and weapons charges after police said he opened fire during a fight in the South Bronx, killing Freytes and wounding two others.<\/p>\n

The son of retired NYPD Det. Sgt. Jesus Freytes was \u201cstruck in the chest\u201d during the Saturday evening burst of gun violence, and later died at a Bronx hospital, according to the criminal complaint.<\/p>\n

Martinez was too overcome with grief to speak to reporters during a vigil for her son outside the family\u2019s apartment building on Monday, but now she\u2019s speaking out in the hopes her family\u2019s tragic story will spark some much-needed change.<\/p>\n

William Ferrer, 45, was arraigned Sunday on murder and weapons charges after cops said he started blasting during a fight outside a South Bronx bodega July 25, killing Freytes and wounding two others. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s making it easier for the criminal. It\u2019s too much. Criminals aren\u2019t scared anymore, the laws aren\u2019t tough anymore,\u201d she said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city took too many laws away. They took the stop-and-frisk. If there\u2019s a group of a whole bunch of people, I don\u2019t see why you can\u2019t stop and frisk, you know?\u201d <\/p>\n

The sudden death of her son rattled Martinez to her core, rendering her bedridden for days after getting a phone call that\u2019s every mother\u2019s worst nightmare.<\/p>\n

Martinez said the systematic coddling of criminals by the city has left them fearing no consequences for their heinous crimes. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

She was at work at a hotel in Midtown Saturday when her husband called to tell her Jacob had been shot. She rushed \u201cstraight to the hospital,\u201d but he had already been pronounced dead by the time she got there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last three days were hurtful. I was angry. I just cried and stood in bed. I didn\u2019t take a shower, I didn\u2019t eat, I didn\u2019t drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t emerge from her cocoon of sorrow until Monday\u2019s memorial emotional outside the family home, where friends and loved ones joined to mourn the boy\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n

Jacob\u2019s father, Jesus Freytes, a retired NYPD detective who lives upstate, is channeling his grief into ensuring his son\u2019s killer gets the justice he deserves. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

Flowers, food and beverages mourners had brought were piled high on a table, while another displayed some of Jacob\u2019s personal belongings, like a basketball hoop he installed above a neighbor\u2019s door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I would go crazy,\u201d she said, before the outpouring of love and support from friends and family.<\/p>\n

That support has gone global with a GoFundMe campaign to help Martinez, which has raised nearly $15,000 of its $16,000 goal as of Thursday.<\/p>\n

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Martinez said Mayor Zohran Mamdani personally called her, telling her to reach out if there was anything she needs, which she felt grateful for, though she hasn\u2019t decided whether to take him up on his offer.<\/p>\n

For now, she\u2019s working on putting the pieces of her shattered life back together for the sake of her other children, daughters Angelica, 30; Sol, 28; and Luna, 7, and Jacob\u2019s brother, Jesus, whom she shares with her police officer ex-husband who now lives upstate.<\/p>\n

Freytes has been channeling his grief into getting justice for his slain son, using whatever levers are at his disposal as a former police officer.<\/p>\n

Jacob is pictured with his father, Jesus Freytes. Provided by family<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of mourning the loss of his son, his father is out there trying to work with the DA \u2026 to make sure the guy will do a lot of time,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n

She said anything less than a murder conviction would be \u201ca slap in the face to any mother or father that loses their child to gun violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just unfair \u2026 He took the life of a child. He was only 12,\u201d Martinez said, tears filling her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son didn\u2019t get to have a girlfriend. That man did. \u2029My son will never drive a car, yet you can see in the video that [the accused shooter] is driving in a Mercedes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just unfair \u2026 He took the life of a child. He was only 12,\u201d Martinez said, tears filling her eyes. Provided by family<\/p>\n

Ferrer\u2019s next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, and Martinez said she will definitely attend.<\/p>\n

She called on the accused killer to face the toughest justice possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you didn\u2019t mean to specifically kill my son, but you meant to shoot that gun, whoever the bullet was meant for,\u201d she said, when asked what she\u2019d say to her son\u2019s accused murderer.<\/p>\n

Migdalia Martinez, Jacob Freytes\u2019 mom, shows a picture of her son on her phone. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

A memorial is set up for Jacob Freytes at Marcy Place in the Bronx where he was fatally shot. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cA bullet has no name. Bullets can ricochet off of a building, or of anything, and anybody could have got hit. Anybody,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was murder. You murdered a 12-year-old child.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The anguished mother of the 12-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet outside a Bronx bodega said the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,303,68,20455,57,9,24,63,103,3980,129,131,130,58],"class_list":["post-309959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-crime","tag-exclusive","tag-memorials","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nypd","tag-shootings","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309959","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=309959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}