The devastated aunt of a young boy killed by an apparent stray bullet as he rode his bicycle in the Bronx tearfully described him as a “typical 12-year-old boy” Sunday morning.
The aunt of 12-year-old Jacob Freytes wept as she spoke about her fallen nephew, the son of a retired NYPD sergeant, in a brief interview with the Daily News. “He’s a typical 12-year-old boy,” Bruni Freytes said. “And that’s all I can say right now.”
Video of the incident shows Jacob on his bike outside the Wanda Supermarket Deli, at Eliot Place and Grand Concourse in Mount Eden, where he had just made a purchase, when a fight breaks out in the roadway in front of him. A man can then be seen pulling a gun and firing shots, as people scatter in panic.
Jacob, who was struck in the shoulder by a bullet, ran back into the store, clutched his shoulder and collapsed on the floor.
Medics took Jacob to Lincoln Hospital where he was in critical condition and later died.
“On Saturday, July 25th, 2026 will forever mark the darkest day of my family’s life. My brother called me with news that my nephew was shot and killed on Elliot St. Bronx, NY. A victim and another statistic of gun violence on our streets,” Bruni Freytes wrote in a Facebook post early Sunday morning that has since been removed or made private.
“A twelve year old boy just riding his bike around the corner and no police in sight.”
“This is my Jacob Kai Freytes at age 10,” she continues, referring to a photo in the Facebook post. “In my mind he is still here, and I, his titi, reprimanding him to put away his clothes, his bike, and not eat in the room. But this boy is in my heart forever; the boy that was and the man he was shaping up to be.”
Two men, ages 34 and 25, were also shot and wounded — one in the left foot, the other in the buttocks.
It’s not clear who the shooter’s intended target was, and police have made no arrests.