New York: 12-year-old son of police officer dies after being hit by stray bullet in Bronx shooting
The shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Elliot Place, near the Grand Concourse, after a fight broke out. The boy, who was not involved in the altercation, was struck by a bullet while at the scene. Two other people were also injured.
NYPD officer in the subway / Charly Triballeau
A 12-year-old boy, the son of a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer, died on Saturday after being struck by a stray bullet during a shooting that occurred in front of a grocery store in the Bronx in New York City.
According to The New York Post, the shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Elliot Place, near the Grand Concourse, after a fight broke out. The child, who was not involved in the altercation, was struck by a bullet while at the scene. Two other people were also injured.
According to United Bodegas of America (UBA), the boy had entered the Wanda Deli Grocery store to buy a ball when he was struck by a stray bullet.
"He heard a commotion at the store. The bullet went straight into his chest. He fell off his bike," Julio López, the boy's uncle, told The New York Post after returning from the hospital.
López also explained that the boy's father, a police sergeant, was in Connecticut when the shooting occurred and returned immediately to the Bronx upon learning of the incident.
Surveillance footage obtained by UBA shows the boy paying at the store counter before leaving and getting on his bicycle. Moments later, a violent fight breaks out in front of the store, in which, according to police sources cited by the newspaper, approximately six men were involved.
The footage also shows the boy returning to the grocery store, injured and seeking help, holding his shoulder while customers ran to safety. Seconds later, the boy collapsed on the floor in front of the counter, as a mother pushing a stroller looked on.
"We cannot accept this violence as normal"
The boy was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police reported that a 25-year-old man was shot in the rear, and a 34-year-old man was wounded in the foot. Both were taken by private means to Bronx Lebanon Hospital and remain in stable condition.
So far, no arrests have been made, nor have any descriptions of the suspects been released. The investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting an "atrocious act" in a statement:
"Our children should be able to ride their bikes on a nice summer day in their neighborhood without fear of being shot," Mamdani wrote.
"We cannot accept this violence as normal."
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