ACCRA — The mother of 15-year-old Ghanaian student Javits Frimpong, who was fatally shot in the Bronx, New York, while walking to school, departed Ghana on Wednesday for the United States to join family members in mourning and seek justice for her son.
Madam Doris Adu Gyamfi was accompanied to the airport by officials from Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relatives. Staff from Ghana’s Mission in New York were on standby to receive her upon arrival and provide support as arrangements are made for a befitting burial.
In a statement shared via the Ministry’s Instagram account, Gyamfi expressed her determination: “I want justice for my son.” She thanked Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for his personal support, Deputy Minister James Gyakyi Quayson for his guidance and consolation, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, and the U.S. Embassy in Ghana for facilitating her visa.
The Ministry said it is working through its New York Mission to ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice.
Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong, a tenth-grader at DreamYard Preparatory School who dreamed of becoming a doctor, was shot once in the abdomen around 9:24 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Bronx, just steps from the home he shared with his father, Thomas Frimpong. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he underwent surgery but later died.
Police said three masked individuals in dark clothing ambushed the teen as he walked to school. Surveillance video showed the attackers chasing him before one shot him; the suspects then collected shell casings and fled into Crotona Park before boarding a subway train toward Manhattan. No arrests have been made.
The teenager had arrived in the United States about a year earlier to live with his father, a taxi driver who has been in New York since 2000. His father has said the boy had reported being bullied at school, and two students were suspended days before the shooting. NYPD investigators are examining possible motives including robbery, mistaken identity, and a connection to the reported bullying, and are seeking school records related to the allegations.
Ghana’s government covered Gyamfi’s travel costs and has pledged support for a dignified funeral. The visa was expedited following interventions by Mayor Mamdani, who spoke with President Donald Trump, and the U.S. Embassy in Accra processed the documents in a same-day process.
Community members in the Bronx have held vigils at the site of the shooting, demanding justice. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
About the Author
