15-year-old Ghanaian boy shot dead near New York school

Javits Frimpong. Photo: NY Post

A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, has been shot dead while walking near his school in the Bronx borough of New York, United States, CBS News reports on Thursday.

Frimpong was shot once in the abdomen shortly before 9:30 am on Thursday near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont section of the Bronx, according to the New York Police Department.

CBS News, which reported the incident, said police took the teenager to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The police are searching for three teenage suspects, aged between 16 and 18, who were last seen wearing black clothing and blue surgical masks.

Investigators have not disclosed what led to the shooting.

Frimpong’s father, Thomas Frimpong, told CBS News that his son had moved from Ghana to the United States about a year ago to live with him.

He said he learnt about the shooting from the principal of his son’s school, Dreamyard Preparatory, who contacted him.

The grieving father also alleged that his son had been bullied by another student and had reported the incidents several times.

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According to him, two boys had fought with his son days before the shooting and were suspended following the incident.

He said his son later confided in him that another student repeatedly bullied him during lunch breaks.

“Any time I am going to lunch, that guy keep on bullying me,” the boy reportedly told his father, who said the teenager had complained about the alleged bullying on several occasions.

CBS News said it contacted the school and the New York City Department of Education over the father’s allegations, but neither had responded at the time of its report.

Describing his son as quiet, Thomas said he was devastated by the loss.

“My son is very quiet. My son didn’t talk. He don’t talk,” he said.

He also appealed to those responsible for the killing to surrender to the police, saying he did not believe they should go unpunished for taking an innocent child’s life.

The NYPD urged anyone with information about the shooting to contact its Crime Stoppers hotline.