A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, identified as Javits Frimpong, has been shot dead while walking near his school in the Bronx borough of New York, prompting a police search for three teenage suspects.
Frimpong was shot once in the abdomen shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighbourhood, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Officers transported him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Police said they were searching for three boys believed to be between 16 and 18 years old. The suspects were last seen wearing black clothing and blue surgical masks. No arrests had been announced as of Friday, Oct. 30, and investigators had not established a motive for the shooting.
The teenager’s father, Thomas Frimpong, said his son moved from Ghana to the United States about a year ago to live with him. He said he learnt of the shooting after receiving a call from the principal of DreamYard Preparatory School, which his son attended.
The grieving father also raised concerns about alleged bullying at the school, saying his son had previously complained about being repeatedly harassed by another student during lunch breaks.
According to Thomas, two students had been suspended following a fight involving his son several days before the fatal shooting. He said the teenager later told him that he had reported the alleged bullying several times.
However, police had not established whether the earlier school dispute was connected to the shooting. CBS News New York reported that it contacted the school and the New York City Department of Education for comment on the father’s claims, but neither had immediately responded.
Thomas described his son as a quiet teenager and expressed devastation over his death, saying he was alone with him at the hospital when he received confirmation that he had died.
The NYPD has appealed to members of the public with information about the incident to contact its Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. Investigations into the killing are ongoing.
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