US: 15-year-old Ghanaian boy shot dead on way to school in New York

A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, has been shot and killed in the Bronx, New York, while on his way to school, with his father alleging that bullying at school may have contributed to the incident.

Frimpong was shot in the stomach near East 171st Street and Third Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, according to law enforcement officials. The shooting happened just steps from his home.

Police officers who arrived at the scene found the teenager conscious with a gunshot wound. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear, and investigators have yet to establish whether Frimpong was specifically targeted. No arrests have been made.

Surveillance footage from the Claremont neighborhood showed a teenager running away from another person dressed in black. The person pursuing him later stopped and turned back, while the victim was subsequently seen collapsing in the distance.

A witness described seeing the teenager moments before the shooting.

“I see the young boy run past my bedroom window, but I didn’t know he had got shot. And there was another guy on the fire hydrant, and when he heard the gunfire, he ran too,” a witness said.

Law enforcement sources said as many as three suspects were seen fleeing the scene. Police are investigating the incident to determine what led to the shooting.

Frimpong’s father, Thomas Frimpong, told NBC New York that his son had complained about a classmate who allegedly bullied him and said the teenager had raised the issue with school authorities.

“He has been telling the principal, he’s been telling the boy is disturbing him,” said Thomas Frimpong.

The grieving father described his son as quiet and said he regularly attended school.

“The school can testify my son is always quiet. Always,” said Frimpong, adding that his son went to school every day.

Frimpong also disclosed that his son moved from Ghana to the United States in 2025 to join him. He said the school’s principal informed him that the teenager had been shot.

Although the father suspects bullying may have played a role, authorities have not established a motive for the killing or confirmed any connection between the reported bullying and the shooting.

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The fatal incident comes amid a reported decline in gun violence in the neighborhood.

Compared with 2025, shootings in the area have fallen by 37% in 2026, while murders have decreased by 44%, according to neighborhood figures.

The investigation into Frimpong’s death was ongoing as of the latest report, with police yet to announce any arrests or identify a confirmed motive.

(NBC New York)