Jacob Freytes, 12, was killed by a stray bullet on July 25, 2026, after gunfire erupted in front of a bodega on Elliot Place in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx. Jacob had been visiting family and had just stopped at the corner store to buy a ball; surveillance video shows him running into the bodega for help after being struck in the shoulder. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Police said he was an innocent bystander and the shooting followed an argument that escalated.

Within a day authorities arrested 45-year-old William Ferrer of the Bronx; Ferrer was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon and pleaded not guilty at arraignment. Two other men, aged 25 and 34, were also wounded and reported in stable condition. A makeshift memorial grew outside Jacob’s apartment building and his mother, Migdalia Martinez, has joined lawmakers to propose Jacob’s Law to increase penalties when reckless acts cause a child’s death.

Does anyone have information about the shooting or recall seeing activity on Elliot Place that afternoon?