The key facts
- Javits Frimpong, 15, was shot dead on Thursday morning on his way to school in the Bronx; a hospital pronounced him dead
- The mother’s visa was granted after Mayor Mamdani appealed to Trump; police are searching for three teenage suspects
- The government of Ghana demands a thorough investigation and is ready to provide legal and consular support
The mother of the killed schoolboy has flown to New York
Doris Adu Gyamfi, the mother of 15-year-old Ghanaian Javits Frimpong, who was killed in the United States, flew from Ghana to America after President Donald Trump ordered that she be granted an emergency visa. Before her departure, she told a correspondent at the airport BBC Africa in Accra: “I want justice for my son,” and added that she was travelling to “plan her son’s funeral.” According to her, the boy had dreamed of becoming a doctor.
What is known about the attack
Javits Frimpong was shot dead on Thursday morning on his way to school in the New York borough of the Bronx: he was chased down and shot. A local hospital pronounced him dead. Police have made no arrests; the investigation continues, and the authorities are searching for three teenagers who fled the scene — their actions were captured on surveillance footage. The killing has caused outrage both in Ghana and in the United States and has once again raised the issue of gun violence in America.
How the visa issue was resolved
The mother was able to obtain the visa after the intervention of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. On Saturday, he wrote on social media that he had spoken by phone with President Trump, who agreed to issue the visa immediately so that Gyamfi could say goodbye to her son in person. “The killing of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone endure it from thousands of miles away,” the BBC quotes the mayor as saying. According to him, “all of New York mourns this tragedy.” At the airport, the mother was accompanied by relatives and the head of the African Diaspora Forum mission, Dr Erieka Bennett; Gyamfi thanked the government and those who sympathised for their support and prayers.
Ghana’s reaction and open questions
The government of Ghana condemned the killing and stated that it is closely monitoring the case in order to achieve justice: it called on the American authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and is ready to provide legal and consular support to bring those responsible to justice. In Ghana, the killing has raised concerns about the safety of children who are sent to study in America. At this point, the motives for the attack and the identities of the suspects remain unknown — no arrests have been made in the case.
Image source, SantaClausians Javits Frimpong was chased down and fatally shot last week on his way to school
Doris Adu Gyamfi said she was going to the US to help plan her son's funeral
