The father of the 15-year-old Ghanaian immigrant fatally shot in a caught-on-camera attack sobbed at the Bronx street corner where his son was murdered Saturday as local elected officials lamented how the U.S. “failed” his son.
While President Trump — at Mayor Mamdani’s request — agreed to grant a visa to Javits Frimpong’s mother in Ghana so she “could say goodbye to her son in person,” officials who gathered at the corner of E. 171st St. near Crotona Place where the teen was gunned down Thursday morning, blasted the country’s lax gun laws and the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, which they claim played a part in the teen’s death.
“His father came here and worked so hard to bring his son here,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said to a growing crowd of mourners. “We should be talking about a great immigrant story, but we’re not.”
“He was failed in the most American way,” Williams said about the senseless killing. “He was failed by a system that produces handguns and handcuffs for black and brown people.”
The teen’s father, Thomas Frimpong, briefly joined the crowd, but was too grief-stricken to speak. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he stood at the scene. At one point, the anguished dad buckled over in pain but was held up by other mourners who quickly took him away.
Javits mother was still in Ghana, relatives said. As of Saturday, more than $715,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe post for Javits’ funeral, which is expected to be in the U.S.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” Mayor Mamdani said on X Saturday. “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,” he said. “All of New York City is mourning this tragedy.”
The tenth grader was on his way to class at Dream Yard Preparatory School, just an 18-minute walk across Claremont Park, when he was ambushed by three masked attackers who shot him once and fled, according to witnesses.
Surveillance video recorded the suspects trailing Javits and hiding behind cars before they shot him and ran off.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark called on the suspects to do the right thing and surrender.
“We need you to turn yourself in before you kill another innocent person,” Clark said. “We’re looking for you.”
“Whoever’s hiding them, bring them forward. We need those shooters,” she continued. “Contact us any kind of way. I just need to help make sure that we get this shooter off the streets. That’s how we begin getting justice for Javits.”
Wednesday, the day before he was murdered, marked the first anniversary of Javits’ new life in the U.S. after immigrating from West Africa to join his father. He had dreams of one day becoming a physician, Thomas Frimpong, 60, said.
“He was good in school. He was a very, very, very clever boy,” Frimpong added.
In his remarks, Williams pointed out that Javits immigrated to America legally.
“It shouldn’t matter, but I know it matters for some people, so I’m letting you all know,” he said, referring to the U.S. controversial anti-immigration policies.
The gathering mourners prayed for Javits and his family. As the crowd became particularly angry and emotional, the group held a moment of silence for the teen to calm things down.
“This has shaken the core of this borough, the city, the state, and the entire nation of what happened to Javits on Thursday. We are here to speak peace. We are here because a family lost a son and we take this personal,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. “This hurts.”
Congressman Ritchie Torres also called on the State Department to grant the boy’s mother a visa so she can attend his funeral.
“There would be no greater cruelty than denying a mother the occasion to mourn and grieve the loss of her family. That’s the least we can do,” he said, with the group applauding in response.
Frimpong said he last saw his son Thursday morning as he was leaving for work, since he would always wake the boy to lock the door behind him since they shared only one key.
The heartbroken father said his son recently had been bullied by a couple of students at the school who were recently suspended — and believes the bullying may have something to do with Javits’ murder.
“[Police] were asking me about my son, they were asking me that he have any problem with anybody?” he told the Daily News Friday. “My son, he don’t know anybody here. He don’t know anybody here. He don’t go out.”
Video obtained by the Daily News shows a suspect running after the teen along the sidewalk, then — after they both go off screen — fleeing in the other direction.
Frimpong was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died. The victim was the intended target of the suspects — three males, each wearing a surgical mask, cops said. The suspects ran off, possibly into nearby Crotona Park.
“They were waiting for him in the park,” one witness told The News. “They wore hoodies and masks. I saw him running, I heard the shot and (he) went down.”
“There was blood all over his white T-shirt,” he said, recalling how a manager from a nearby shelter applied pressure to the wound before an ambulance arrived. “He was going in and out of consciousness. He wasn’t looking good.”
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information about Javits’ murder is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.