A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, has been shot dead while walking to school in the Bronx, New York, days after his father said he had complained about being bullied by fellow students.
Frimpong was shot on Thursday, October 29, near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighbourhood of the Bronx.
Police officers who responded to the incident found him with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and rushed him to St Barnabas Hospital, where he later died.
His father, Thomas Frimpong, said his son had moved from Ghana to the United States about a year ago to live with him.
According to the father, the teenager had repeatedly complained about being bullied at DreamYard Preparatory School, where he was a student.
He said the school principal had contacted him a few days before the shooting to inform him that two students allegedly involved in bullying his son had been suspended.
Thomas also said Javits had told him that a student regularly disturbed him during lunch breaks and that he had reported
the matter several times.The father believes the alleged bullying may have been connected to the shooting. However, police have not established a motive or confirmed any link between the school incidents and the killing.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed the teenager running along a street before collapsing, while individuals dressed in dark clothing were seen fleeing the area.
Police are searching for three teenage suspects believed to be between 16 and 18 years old. No arrests had been announced as of Saturday, October 31.
Frimpong’s death has raised concerns among residents and members of the Ghanaian community in New York, particularly over the safety of young people and the consequences of bullying.
His father described him as a quiet and intelligent boy who attended school regularly and had expressed an interest in becoming a doctor.
The teenager’s mother remains in Ghana. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump had agreed to grant her an immediate visa to travel to the United States to mourn her son.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
#WawaReporters #JavitsFrimpong #NewYork #Ghana #Bullying #GunViolence #SchoolSafety
