Madam Doris Adu Gyamfi, the mother of Ghanaian student Javits Frimpong, has arrived in New York and called for justice six days after her 15-year-old son was shot dead in the Bronx.
“I want justice for my son, that is all,” she said after landing in the United States on Wednesday, November 4. She added that Javits had hoped to become a medical doctor.
Police have yet to make an arrest and are continuing to search for three masked suspects who chased Javits as he travelled to school on the morning of Thursday, October 29.
Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong moved from Ghana about a year ago to live with his father, Thomas Frimpong. He was a Grade 10 pupil at DreamYard Preparatory School.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on Monday, November 2, that investigators were considering three possible motives: robbery, mistaken identity involving a rival gang, and bullying at school.
Police have not indicated which theory they consider most likely. A report by 3News on Wednesday morning said investigators had found no evidence linking Javits to a gang.
Asked about the bullying possibility, Kenny said: “It’s one aspect that we’re looking at, as well as some others,” according to the New York Post.
He described Javits as a teenager strongly focused on his education.
“He would come home, do his homework, and then he would jump on his phone periodically,” Kenny said. “But he was very, very into his schoolwork.”
Kenny said on Monday that the city’s Department of Education could not provide information about bullying reports without a subpoena. The department said the following day that it had co-operated with investigators and supplied everything police had requested, the Post reported.
The NYPD did not confirm that account, while the Department of Education declined to say whether a subpoena had been issued.
Brooklyn Assemblyman Kalman Yeger accused the school system in a post on X of refusing to assist police in finding Javits’ killers.
Thomas Frimpong has said the school principal called him two days before the shooting to report that two boys had fought with his son and had been suspended. He believes that incident is connected to the killing, although police have not established any link.
The three suspects are believed to be aged between 16 and 18, News 12 reported, citing police.
Javits was shot near East 171st Street and Third Avenue at about 9:25am. Police said the suspects later boarded a southbound No. 5 subway train.
As of Wednesday morning, nobody had been identified, arrested or charged. The NYPD is asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Madam Adu Gyamfi travelled to New York ahead of her son’s funeral, Citi reported. No date or venue has been announced.
Candles and flowers continue to gather at the site where Javits died. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson visited the memorial and shared photographs on X on Tuesday.
“Javits was our son. A son of Ghana, a son to his parents. This is personal,” Gibson wrote.
She also criticised the availability of firearms, writing: “The over saturation of guns is enormous. It’s too easy to get a weapon.”
