The family of Javits Frimpong continues to receive an outpouring of support, as more than $800,000 has been raised in a GoFundMe set up to raise funds for the slain teen’s funeral, burial, and other unexpected expenses.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Javits, a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, was fatally shot in the Bronx on the morning of October 29.
Per WABC, the incident happened close to Crotona Park in the Bronx, and Javits was headed to school when he was gunned down. Authorities said Frimpong collapsed after running about a block when he was shot. He later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
Authorities are currently searching for three teenage suspects linked to Javits’ killing. The suspects were said to be wearing black sweatsuits and blue surgical masks. Surveillance footage also captured one of the suspects fleeing the scene after the shooting.
Javits’ father, Thomas Frimpong, said he feels he knows the person behind his son’s killing. But no suspects had been arrested or identified by the police at the time of this report.
Frimpong said he suspects the shooting stemmed from bullying. He said the school principal spoke with him three days before the shooting and told him that Javits was being bullied by two teenagers. Frimpong said the principal told him the two teenagers had been suspended for a week.
Frimpong said his son arrived in New York from Ghana just a year ago, adding that Javits’ mother still resides in the West African nation.
He also said his son was hardly outdoors and mostly by himself. He added that school officials told him Javits did not instigate a recent incident, WABC reported.
“The principal told me Javits is innocent. Javits is innocent. He was defending himself,” Frimpong, who described his deceased son as “precious” and “very clever,” said.
Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana has said that it will cover the full travel costs for Javits mother, Madam Doris Adu Gyamfi, to travel to New York to pay her last respects to her slain son.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed the state funding on Saturday, October 31, 2026, Face2Face Africa reported.
The announcement came as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to grant a visa to Javits’ mother.
“I just got off the phone with President Trump and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately,” Mamdani posted on X.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” he wrote. “Javits Frimpong’s mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person.”
Ghana’s foreign minister, Ablakwa, thanked Mamdani and Trump in a post on X, adding that officials in Ghana were coordinating with the deceased’s mother to help her with the visa application process.
“This is most appreciated, @NYCMayor. The Government of Ghana welcomes your intervention and President Trump’s timely decision. We have always known we can count on our own Kwame Mamdani,” Minister Ablakwa wrote.
As Frimpong’s fatal shooting continues to ignite widespread backlash, Ghanaian officials have said that they will pursue justice and make sure that those who did this do not get away with it.
“We resolve to continue to work together in securing justice for Javits,” Ablakwa stated.
READ ALSO: Ghanaian father who just relocated to Canada dies after suspected random shooting
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Crotona Park, donald trump, Ghana, GoFundMe, Javits Frimpong, Madam Doris Adu Gyamfi, New York City, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, The Bronx, Thomas Frimpong, Zohran Mamdani