A 12-year-old boy gunned down while riding his bicycle outside a Bronx bodega wanted to grow up to become a cop like his father, a retired NYPD sergeant, the boy’s mother told the Daily News Tuesday.
Jacob Freytes was killed as he stepped out of the Wanda Supermarket Deli in Mount Eden when, as he mounted his bike, a stray bullet fired by alleged gunman William Ferrer pierced his shoulder about 4:55 p.m. on Saturday, cops said.
Jacob’s mother said her son worshipped his dad, retired NYPD Sgt. Jesus Freytes.
“He wanted to be a cop, like his dad,” the victim’s mother, 47-year-old Migdalia Martinez, told The News as she stood in the pouring rain over a makeshift shrine to her son outside her building. “His father was his hero. He wanted to be just like his father.”
“He saw his father as big and strong, and he wanted to be just as big and just as strong,” she said.
Video of the shooting shows Jacob fleeing back into the deli at Eliot Place and Grand Concourse as he clutches his shoulder and howls in pain.
“He was a beautiful boy. He was very loving and a prankster and a jokester,” the boy’s mother recalled. “He helped a lot of people when he saw he could help.”
Medics rushed Jacob to Lincoln Hospital, but he couldn’t be saved.
“It’s been the worst few days,” said Martinez. “You think you don’t matter, but then you see how many people come out and support you.”
Freytes was struck when a gunman opened fire after a fight broke out up the street, said police. Two others were wounded , including a 34-year-old man struck in the left foot and a 25-year-old man hit in the buttocks, cops said.
Ferrer, 34, was arrested Sunday and charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and assault, among other charges for the deadly shooting.
“I just hope he gets what he deserves. I hope he spends the rest of his life in jail,” Jacob’s mother said. “I think this should be a law. There should be a law where, when someone kills a child, they should spend the rest of their days in jail.”
Ferrer has 12 prior arrests between 2004 and 2013, most recently for drug possession. His other arrests were for charges including possession of stolen property, driving without a license, marijuana possession and theft of service, sources said.
He was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Monday. He is due back in Bronx Criminal Court on July 21.
Rebecca White / New York Daily News
William Ferrer, 45, is pictured in police custody outside the 44th Precinct station house in the Bronx on Sunday, June 26, 2025 after being charged with murder in the shooting death of 12-year-old Jacob Freytes. (Rebecca White / New York Daily News)
Friends and family had built the makeshift memorial outside Jacob’s home, located just around the corner from where he was shot, on Monday, filling it with lit candles and a sign that read “you will be missed.”
“It’s sad. He was only 12 years old. He didn’t even get a chance to make it to 15, 18,” said Missel Ventura, a family friend. “This is out of control. All these thugs with the guns, it’s out of control. We are supposed to be protecting these kids.”
“He was a sweet person, kind,” said a friend, William Ponc, 16. “I was like, ‘Damn.’ I was sad hearing about it.”
Another family friend told The News that Jacob was outside playing with friends when he was fatally shot.
“No man, no woman, no child should go through this. This is tragic,” said Julio Lopez. “There is nothing we can say or do that will bring Jacob back. We are all heartbroken.”
