Javits Frimpong: Bronx Teen, 15, Shot and Killed on His Way to School as Police Seek Three Suspects

A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed while walking to school in the Bronx on Thursday morning, Oct. 29, and New York police are searching for three teenagers in connection with the killing. Police identified the victim as Javits Frimpong, who moved to New York from Ghana about a year ago to live with his father.

As of Friday, no arrests had been announced and police had not said what led to the shooting.

What happened

The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. near East 171st Street and Crotona Place, close to Crotona Park, according to an NYPD spokesperson quoted by Gothamist. Javits was shot once in the abdomen. ABC7 New York reported that he ran about a block before collapsing.

Responding officers drove him in their patrol car to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Gothamist reported.

His father, Thomas Frimpong, told Gothamist that Javits was on his way to DreamYard Preparatory School. The school called to say his son hadn’t arrived, and soon after, the principal called to tell him Javits had been shot.

The search for suspects

Investigators are looking for three teenage boys believed to be between 16 and 18, CBS New York reported. According to ABC7, they fled the area wearing black sweatsuits and blue surgical masks, and surveillance video shows one person running from the scene in a black hoodie, black sweatpants and a mask.

Police have not identified any suspects publicly and have not pinpointed a motive.

Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish, CBS New York noted. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website or by direct message to @NYPDTips on X.

Father says his son had been bullied

Thomas Frimpong has said he believes the shooting may be connected to bullying at school, though police have not drawn any such link.

He told ABC7 that three days before the shooting, the principal told him two students had been bullying his son and had been suspended for a week. “The principal told me Javits is innocent. Javits is innocent. He was defending himself,” he said. He told Gothamist that a few days earlier two students had fought with Javits, and that he thought “that was all.”

A school bus aide told CBS New York he was aware of at least two students being suspended in recent weeks for bullying Javits. The aide also acknowledged that his theories about a motive could be “speculation.” Whether anything that happened at school is connected to the shooting remains unknown.

According to CBS New York, Javits had told his father that one student kept bullying him at lunch and that he had reported it several times.

Who was Javits Frimpong?

His father described him as a quiet, reserved boy who came home from school and stayed inside playing games on his phone. “My son was precious, very clever,” he told ABC7. He told CBS New York that Javits “always say he want to be a physician.”

Thomas Frimpong, 60, a yellow cab driver, said he moved to New York from Ghana in 2000, and that Javits followed him last year. The boy’s mother still lives in Ghana. “It’s not easy for me,” he told Gothamist. “I’m here with him alone.” He said relatives were on the way and the family would decide next steps.

The last thing he told his son on Thursday morning, he said, was to make sure he got to school on time.

Reaction in the Bronx and in Ghana

Residents near Crotona Park expressed outrage over the violence, ABC7 reported, with some urging parents to pay closer attention to their children and calling for more after-school programs to keep young people away from violence.

The killing has also drawn attention in Ghana. BBC News Pidgin reported that Ghana condemned the killing.

FAQ