Retired NYPD detective's 12-year-old son killed by stray bullet, suspect arrested: Police
Jacob Freytes, 12, was shot while riding his bike to a bodega, officials said.
An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old New York City boy who was hit by a stray bullet while riding his bicycle to a bodega to buy a ball, officials said.
The victim, identified as Jacob Freytes, the son of a retired New York police detective sergeant, was killed on Saturday evening in the city's Bronx neighborhood, authorities said.
Two men were also injured in the shooting, police said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced that a suspect wanted in the shooting was arrested on Sunday outside his home in the Bronx.
Tisch said in a social media post that the suspect, 45-year-old William Ferrer, is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Ferrer was arraigned on the charges on Monday morning in Bronx Criminal Court, where a judge ordered him to be jailed without bail.
"Jacob was an innocent bystander on his bike when he was taken from his family yesterday in an act of senseless gun violence," Tisch said in the social media post on Sunday.
The commissioner added, "No arrest can ever ease the pain of this unimaginable loss, but the NYPD will continue to do everything in our power to see justice for Jacob."
The NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association confirmed in a social media post on Sunday night that Jacob was the son of retired NYPD Detective Sgt. Jesus Freytes.
"Losing a child is every parent's worst nightmare. On behalf of the men and women of the SBA, our hearts go out to the Freytes family, as we pray for them during this unimaginable and painful tragedy," the police union said.
The incident unfolded just before 5 p.m. on Saturday when gunfire erupted in front of a bodega in the Mt. Eden section of the Bronx, according to an NYPD statement.
Ferrer was reportedly fighting with at least five other people outside the bodega when he allegedly opened fire on the group, authorities told ABC New York station WABC.
Jacob was shot when he rode up to the store on his bicycle as the shooting occurred and was hit by an errant bullet, police said.
The boy was taken to Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx, where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.
Investigators said Jacob was not involved in the dispute that preceded the shooting and had gone to a bodega to buy a ball when gunfire erupted, according to WABC.
After being shot in the shoulder, Jacob fell off his bike and ran into the bodega seeking cover and help before he collapsed, WABC reported.
The two other victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. A 25-year-old man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the buttocks, and a 34-year-old man was sent to a hospital with a gunshot wound to the left foot, police said.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation. Law enforcement sources told WABC that the shooting is possibly gang-related.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement on social media about the child's death, saying, "My heart breaks for his family."
"Our children should be able to ride their bikes on a nice summer day in their neighborhood without fear of being shot," Mamdani wrote in the post. "We cannot accept this violence as normal."
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