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The 12-year-old son of a cop was fatally gunned down by random shots fired into a crowd outside a Bronx bodega Saturday — where the youngster was seen on heartbreaking video staggering inside clutching his injured chest before collapsing onto the floor.
The gunfire erupted after a brawl broke out on Elliot Place near the Grand Concourse at about 5:30 p.m., injuring two people and killing the 12-year-old who was an innocent bystander, police said.
The young boy had stopped by the Wanda Deli Grocery on Elliot Place to purchase a ball when he was struck by the stray bullet, the United Bodegas of America said.
“He heard a commotion at the store. The bullet went straight into his chest. He fell off his bike,” the 12-year-old’s uncle Julio Lopez told The Post after returning from the hospital.
The youngster’s father, who was a sergeant, was in Connecticut at the time of the shooting and raced down to the Bronx after hearing what happened, Lopez said.
In surveillance footage obtained by UBA, the 12-year-old can be seen paying at the deli’s front counter before leaving and hopping on his bike shortly before being shot.
Moments later, a violent brawl can be seen erupting in front of the pre-teen, who was an innocent bystander.
The brawl was apparently among some six men, police sources said.
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.”
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