HE WAS ONLY 15: FATHER HEARTBROKEN AFTER SON JAVITS FRIMPONG IS CHASED AND FATALLY SHOT ON HIS WAY TO SCHOOL
Surveillance footage captured the teenager running through a Bronx neighborhood moments before he collapsed. His father says Javits had complained about being bullied at school just days earlier.
A grieving father is demanding answers after his 15-year-old son was chased and fatally shot while walking to school in the Bronx, New York.
Javits Frimpong was on his way to class on the morning of Thursday, October 29, when he was shot near East 171st Street and Third Avenue in the Claremont neighborhood.
Surveillance footage from the area captured the terrifying moments in which the teenager appeared to run for his life as another person dressed in dark clothing chased him. Moments later, Javits collapsed in the distance.
Police officers responding shortly after 9 a.m. found the teenager with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but later died from his injuries.
For his father, Thomas Frimpong, the news marked the beginning of an unimaginable nightmare.
HIS FATHER SAYS HE HAD REPORTED BULLYING
In the days before the śh́óóting, Javits had reportedly told his father that another student was repeatedly bothering him during lunchtime.
Thomas said his son had raised the issue with school officials several times.
According to the father, the school’s principal had contacted him a few days before the śh́óóting about an incident involving two students who had allegedly bullied Javits. Thomas said he was told the students had been suspended.
The teenager later opened up to his father about what he had been experiencing.
“He said, ‘Dad, anytime I am going to lunch, that guy keep on bullying me,’” Thomas recalled in an interview with CBS News New York.
He said Javits had told him he had reported the behavior repeatedly.
The grieving father believes the earlier bullying may have been connected to the fatal attack. However, investigators have not established a motive, and police have not confirmed any link between the school incidents and the śh́óóting.
A NEW LIFE IN AMERICA CUT SHORT
Javits had moved from Ghana to the United States in 2025 to reunite with his father and build a future in New York.
Thomas described his son as quiet, well-behaved and focused on his education.
“He was very clever,” his father said, explaining that Javits dreamed of becoming a physician.
The teenager reportedly kept to himself and went to school regularly. His family had hoped that moving to America would give him opportunities to pursue his ambitions.
Instead, his life was cut short just one year after arriving in the country.
Javits’ mother was still in Ghana when the tᩚraɢedy happened. Thomas had to deliver the devastating news to her from thousands of miles away.
POLICE SEARCH FOR THREE TEENAGE SUSPECTS
Investigators are searching for as many as three people believed to be connected to the śh́óóting.
Surveillance footage reviewed by news outlets showed individuals dressed in dark clothing and wearing face coverings in the area. Police have not publicly established the precise circumstances leading up to the attack.
As of the latest reports, no arrests had been announced.
Authorities have urged anyone with information to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted through the NYPD’s official Crime Stoppers channels.
The investigation remains ongoing.
A FATHER’S PLEA FOR JUSTICE
In the days after Javits’ dєatᩚh, family members and community supporters gathered in the Bronx to remember the teenager and call for justice.
Thomas has urged those responsible to come forward.
The tᩚraɢedy has also drawn attention to the family’s circumstances. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said President Donald Trump had agreed to grant Javits’ mother a visa so she could travel from Ghana to say goodbye to her son in person. The White House had not publicly confirmed the arrangement at the time of the Associated Press report.
For Thomas, the loss is impossible to put into words. He had brought his son to America hoping to give him a better future. Now, he is left grieving a boy who dreamed of becoming a doctor and had so much life ahead of him.
Javits was just 15 years old.
His family is now waiting for answers — and hoping that those responsible will be found.
