The 12-year-old son of a police sergeant was killed Saturday when stray gunfire tore into a crowd outside a Bronx bodega, a tragedy captured in heartbreaking video that shows the boy stumbling inside while clutching his wounded chest before collapsing to the floor.
Police said the shooting broke out around 5:30 p.m. after a fight erupted on Elliot Place near the Grand Concourse. Two people were injured, and the 12-year-old, described by authorities as an innocent bystander, was fatally struck.
The boy had gone to Wanda Deli Grocery on Elliot Place to buy a ball when a stray bullet hit him, according to the United Bodegas of America.
“He heard a commotion at the store. The bullet went straight into his chest. He fell off his bike,” the boy’s uncle, Julio Lopez, told The Post after returning from the hospital.
Lopez said the child’s father, a sergeant, was in Connecticut when the Bronx shooting happened and rushed back after learning his son had been shot.
Surveillance footage obtained by UBA shows the 12-year-old paying at the deli’s front counter, then leaving the store and getting onto his bike shortly before the gunfire erupted.
Within moments, a violent fight appears to break out in front of the pre-teen, who had no involvement and was simply caught in the chaos.
Police sources said the brawl appeared to involve about six men.
The shot boy can be seen running back into the bodega for help, clutching his shoulder in agony, as frightened customers ran for cover.
Seconds later, the boy can be seen collapsing onto his chest on the floor at the front counter in front of a horrified mother pushing a baby in a stroller.
Bronx locals told The Post the 12-year-old “was a good kid” who “loved to ride his bike.”
Lopez, who said he is an uncle to the youngster not by blood, was walking his dogs when he heard the shots ring out and “saw people running from around the corner.”
“He was saying hi to the guys up the block,” Lopez added. “He showed respect. He was a good kid. He’s gonna be missed.”
Lopez had only seen the “adventurous” and “free spirit” pre-teen earlier that morning walking his dog.
“He lived on his own terms and he was only 12,” he said.
It was not clear who fired or who was the intended target and the suspects fled the scene in a black BMW, police sources said.
The child was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was declared dead, according to cops.
A 25-year-old man was hit in the buttocks and a 34-year-old man was struck in the foot, police said.
Both of them were taken to Bronx Lebanon Hospital in stable condition by private means.
There were no immediate arrests or suspect descriptions, cops said.
The shooting remains an active investigation, police said.
In a video posted to X Saturday night, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said her “heart is so heavy” after the senseless shooting.
“I am outraged, I’m heartbroken, I’m disgusted, just an unimaginable pain,” she said.
“A 12-year-old lost his life, an innocent bystander, standing outside of a store with his bike…And now he’s gone and family and parents are devastating and living in unimaginable pain.”
“These damn guns, these damn guns, these damn guns,” she fumed.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting a “heinous act” in a statement on X.
“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.”
