A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a teenager who was walking to school in New York City last month, police said Wednesday.
The unidentified suspect is facing a murder charge in the Oct. 29 killing of 15-year-old Javits Frimpong, according to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“The NYPD will be relentless in our efforts to get dangerous people out of our communities, especially when it involves the murder of a 15-year-old boy,” the department said in a post on X.
Community members visit and care for a memorial honoring Javits Frimpong on Nov. 7 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Frimpong, a 15-year-old immigrant from Ghana, was fatally shot more than a week earlier. His father said the boy had been bullied at school. A 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the killing. (Corbis via Getty Images)
Javits, a Ghanaian immigrant, was shot in the stomach and killed in the Bronx. His father believes the shooting could be connected to bullying his son had allegedly faced at school.
Two days before the shooting, the school principal had called Thomas Frimpong to tell him that his son was being targeted. Two students were suspended following the incident.
The killing led to protests in the neighborhood and renewed demands from community members for action against youth violence and bullying.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said last week that investigators were examining several possible motives.
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“The alleged bullying is one aspect that we’re looking at, as well as some others,” Kenny told the New York Post.
“All three gave chase,” Kenny said. “And these cowards shot him in the back. If their intention was to rob him, he dropped his backpack.”
Community members visit and maintain a memorial for Javits Frimpong on Nov. 7, 2026, in the Bronx borough of New York City. Frimpong, a 15-year-old immigrant from Ghana, was fatally shot more than a week earlier. He had reportedly been bullied at school, though the motive for the killing remains unclear. (Corbis via Getty Images)
“As of right now, all indications are that he was trying to live the American dream,” Kenny said. “He was trying to get ahead by going to school. We have nothing in our investigation to indicate he was involved in any gang activity. Seems like he was just a very good kid.”
The shooting also prompted federal assistance for the grieving family. President Donald Trump agreed to grant Javits’ mother an emergency visa, allowing her to travel from Ghana to the United States to bury her son.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote in a Nov. 2 post on X.
“Javits Frimpong’s mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person. I just got off the phone with President Trump, and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately.”