Javits Frimpong, a 15-year-old boy from Ghana, has died after being shot in the abdomen while walking near his school in the Bronx, police said.
Frimpong was shot once shortly before 09:30 on Thursday near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont section of the borough, according to the NYPD. Officers took him to hospital, where he later died.
Police are seeking three teenage boys aged between 16 and 18 in connection with the shooting. The suspects were last seen wearing black clothing and blue surgical masks. Investigators said it was not yet clear what led to the incident.
The shooting happened on a street close to the apartment Frimpong shared with his father. Thomas Frimpong, 60, spoke to CBS News New York by telephone from the hospital.
“It’s not easy for me. It’s not easy for me. He’s my everything. I’m here with him alone. I’m here with him alone,” he said.
He said he had rushed to the hospital after being informed about the shooting. “They said my son passes, past. It’s not easy, ma’am. It’s not easy,” he added.
Thomas Frimpong said the principal of Dreamyard Preparatory had told him that his son had been shot. He said the principal had contacted him previously after an incident at the school several days earlier.
“Two boys, um, were fighting with my son and the two boys got suspended,” he said.
According to the father, his son then spoke to him about being bullied.
“He said, ‘Dad, any time I am going to lunch, that guy keep on bullying me.’ He said, ‘I have been reporting him several times,’” Thomas Frimpong said.
CBS News New York said it had contacted the school and the Department of Education about the bullying allegations, but neither had immediately responded.
Frimpong had moved to the United States from Ghana one year ago to live with his father.
“My son is very quiet. My son didn’t talk. He don’t talk,” Thomas Frimpong said.
Residents in the area described their shock and sadness following the shooting.
“It’s devastating. I got a son that’s 9. It’s sad,” neighbour Cecile Johnson said.
“It worried me. I’ve got kids,” Modesto Arriola added. “Over over here, there’s no control over here.”
A longtime resident named Carla said Frimpong had been on his way to school and had been doing what was expected of him.
“He was just going to school, like doing what he was supposed to do,” she said, adding that he had much to live for and could have contributed to the community.
Thomas Frimpong has urged the suspects to surrender to police.
“I don’t think they are going to go free for killing an innocent child,” he said.
