Police have identified the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed while riding his bicycle in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx as Jacob Freytes. The child lived right around the corner, in the same neighborhood where the gunfire broke out, and had simply been out on his bike in broad daylight on Saturday when the shots rang out and cut his life short.
The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Walton Avenue and Elliott Place, outside a supermarket deli. Police say it began as an argument between a group of men before quickly escalating into gunfire, with Jacob caught in the middle as an innocent bystander who had nothing to do with the dispute unfolding on the crowded corner.
In all, three people were shot. Jacob was struck in the shoulder, while a 34-year-old man was hit in the foot and a 25-year-old man was shot in the backside. The two wounded adults are expected to survive, but the gunfire proved fatal for the 12-year-old, turning an ordinary summer afternoon in the neighborhood into a scene of horror and grief.
Jacob was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Detectives were later seen processing his bicycle at the scene, a small and painful reminder of how young the victim was and how routine the moment had been before the shooting shattered it. The bike had been left behind on the sidewalk where he collapsed.
A witness described the terrifying sequence, saying they heard five shots and then saw a boy on a bike collapse onto the sidewalk. According to the account, the shooter then drove away from the scene in a jeep, leaving behind a wounded child and two injured men as police and medics rushed to the corner in response to the gunfire.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement in the wake of the killing, underscoring the shock of a young life lost. City leaders have repeatedly said that children should be able to ride their bikes on a summer day in their own neighborhood without fear of being shot, a sentiment that took on painful weight with the death of a 12-year-old on his own block.
As of Sunday morning, the shooter remained on the loose, and police had not released any suspect descriptions or announced any arrests. Investigators were continuing to comb the Mount Eden corner for evidence and appeal for information, as a Bronx neighborhood grappled with the loss of one of its youngest residents, now identified as Jacob Freytes.