Thomas Frimpong has repeatedly told reporters that he believes the śh́óóting that killed his 15-year-old son is connected to ongoing problems at DreamYard Preparatory School. According to accounts given to ABC7, CBS New York, the New York Daily News and other outlets, the school principal contacted Frimpong roughly two or three days before October 29 to report that two boys had been involved in a physical confrontation with Javits and that those students had been suspended.
Frimpong said his son later opened up at home, telling him that one of the students continued to bother him especially during lunch and that he had reported the behavior multiple times. The father described Javits as very quiet, someone who kept to himself and rarely went out, and he said school officials told him his son had been defending himself. On the morning of the śh́óóting the principal called again, this time with the news that Javits had been sH๏τ while walking to class. Frimpong rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital.
In the days following the October 29 śh́óóting, residents and officials gathered near the corner of East 171st Street and Crotona Place for a vigil. Family members, religious leaders and neighbors prayed and called for an end to the violence that took the life of 15-year-old Javits Frimpong. Thomas Frimpong was seen sobbing at the scene. A GoFundMe established to help with funeral costs and support the family raised more than $700,000 within days and continued climbing past $800,000 according to reports.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted that the murder of a child is a pain no parent should endure, particularly from thousands of miles away, and said he had spoken with President Donald Trump, who agreed to grant an emergency visa so the teenager’s mother could travel from Ghana. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark publicly urged the suspects to turn themselves in before anyone else was harmed. The New York City Department of Education issued a statement expressing support for the school community and confirming that counseling resources were available. Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said he had spoken directly with Thomas Frimpong, conveyed condolences on behalf of the government, and pledged that officials would work with U.S. authorities to pursue justice. The combination of the rapid fundraising, the vigil, and statements from city, federal and Ghanaian officials has drawn sustained attention to the case while the NYPD continues its search for the three teenage males last seen fleeing the area in black clothing and surgical masks.
