Mother of Ghanaian Teen Shot Dead in New York Arrives in US and Demands Justice
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 US on Wednesday, 4th November. She said Javits had dreamed of becoming a medical doctor.
No arrest has been announced. Police are still searching for three masked people who chased Javits on his way to school on the morning of Thursday, 29th October.
Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong moved from Ghana about a year ago to live with his father, Thomas Frimpong. He was a Grade 10 student at DreamYard Preparatory School.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters on Monday, 2nd November, that detectives were weighing three possibilities: a robbery, mistaken identity involving a rival gang, and bullying at school.
Police have not said which line they favour. Investigators have so far found nothing linking the boy to a gang.
Asked about the bullying claim, Kenny said it was one aspect being looked at, as well as some others. He described a teenager absorbed in his studies who would come home, do his homework and jump on his phone periodically, but remained very focused on his schoolwork.
On Monday, Kenny said the city’s Department of Education would not release information on the bullying reports without a subpoena. A day later, the department said it had cooperated and handed over everything police asked for. The NYPD would not confirm this, and the department would not say whether a subpoena had been served.
Brooklyn Assemblyman Kalman Yeger accused the school system of refusing to help police find the boy’s killers.
Thomas Frimpong has said the school principal phoned him two days before the shooting to say two boys had fought with his son and been suspended. He believes the incident is linked to the killing. Police have not established any link.
Detectives are looking for three suspects believed to be between 16 and 18 years old. Javits was shot near East 171st Street and Third Avenue at about 9:25am. Police say the three later boarded a southbound No. 5 subway train.
As of Wednesday morning, no one had been named, arrested or charged. The NYPD has asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.
The mother travelled ahead of her son’s funeral, but no date or venue has been made public.
A memorial of candles and flowers continues to grow at the spot where Javits fell. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson visited it and described Javits as a son of Ghana and to his parents, adding that the matter was personal. She also pointed to how easy it is to obtain a gun.
