Javits Frimpong, 15, Was Bullied At School — Two Days Later He Was Shot Dead Walking There

A chase two days after the bullying call

On Oct. 29, a Thursday morning, Javits Frimpong, 15, was walking to school in the Bronx when three teenage boys allegedly ran him down, chasing him through the neighborhood. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators, cited by Al Jazeera, showed the chase play out that morning.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny later described what happened. "All three gave chase," he said. "And these cowards shot him in the back. If their intention was to rob him, he dropped his backpack."

Javits was struck once. Kenny's account describes the teens shooting him in the back as he ran; multiple outlets, including Fox News Digital and ABC7, reported the wound was to his stomach or abdomen. Police got him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died the same day.

Two days before the shooting, around Oct. 27, Javits's school principal had called his father, Thomas Frimpong, to say his son was being bullied. Two students had already been suspended over a fight involving Javits before he was killed.

Who Javits was, and who's accused

Javits Frimpong was a Ghanaian immigrant. His father brought him to the Bronx about a year before the shooting, hoping to give him a better life in the United States.

According to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, retained by the family, Javits dreamed of becoming a doctor. Kenny said investigators found nothing connecting him to gang activity: "As of right now, all indications are that he was trying to live the American dream. He was trying to get ahead by going to school. We have nothing in our investigation to indicate he was involved in any gang activity. Seems like he was just a very good kid."

Javits's mother was still in Ghana when her son was killed.

The NYPD has arrested and charged a 17-year-old in the killing; he has not been publicly identified because he is a minor. Two other teens who allegedly joined the chase have not been charged, as of the most recent reporting.

"And these cowards shot him in the back. If their intention was to rob him, he dropped his backpack." — Joseph Kenny, NYPD Chief of Detectives

The charges, and what's still open

The 17-year-old was arrested Nov. 11 and faces charges of murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, according to KATU. Murder is the top count — it requires prosecutors to prove intent to kill or a depraved indifference to human life. Manslaughter is typically filed alongside it as a lesser alternative, in case a jury doesn't find intent. The weapon count covers the gun used in the shooting.

The NYPD posted on X that it "will be relentless in our efforts to get dangerous people out of our communities, especially when it involves the murder of a 15-year-old boy."

Kenny said, before the arrest, that investigators believed three people may have been involved in the chase. Only one has been charged so far. New York law allows prosecutors to charge accomplices who act in concert with a shooter, but nothing in the coverage indicates charges against the other two are imminent.

Police have floated two possible motives: the bullying Javits had reported, and an attempted robbery. "The alleged bullying is one aspect that we're looking at, as well as some others," Kenny told the New York Post.

The visa, the vigil and the mayor's call

Javits's mother remained in Ghana as her son lay in a New York hospital, then a morgue. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he spoke by phone with President Donald Trump about getting her a visa to travel for the funeral.

"The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away," Mamdani wrote on X, according to Al Jazeera. "Javits Frimpong's mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person. I just got off the phone with President Trump, and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately."

Ghana's foreign minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, said officials were "coordinating with local authorities" to help with the visa application, per Al Jazeera.

Hundreds gathered at a vigil in the Bronx on Oct. 31, at the spot where Javits collapsed. Leandra Feliz, whose own 15-year-old son was killed by gang members in 2018, told the family, "I'm only here to show support to the family because here we are again, another child of 15-years-old lost and I just want to be here to let the family know I'm here," according to ABC7.

A church leader at the vigil said, "I don't want to be here doing this. I want to be invited to a birthday party. I want to be invited to a sweet 16 to pray. I want to be invited to open my church to a celebration, to a graduation, not to a funeral," ABC7 reported.

What police and family have said

Javits's father, Thomas Frimpong, has said he knows who was responsible for the shooting and has called on police to help him "find justice for my son," according to Al Jazeera.

Ben Crump, the family's attorney, said in a news release that Javits had come to the Bronx about a year earlier and dreamed of becoming a doctor, per KATU.

The New York City Department of Education said in a statement, "Our hearts are with this young person's family and school community during this unimaginably difficult time," and added that it was making counseling available and supporting the NYPD's investigation, per ABC7.

Congressman Richie Torres, who represents the Bronx, wrote that "our entire borough is mourning a young man who should have had his whole future ahead of him," according to Al Jazeera.

What happens next

No arraignment date for the 17-year-old has been reported in the coverage so far, and prosecutors have not said whether the two other teens allegedly in the chase will face charges. Police have also not said whether they've settled on bullying or robbery as the motive, or whether both played a role.