By: Jennifer Nerkie Kenney
A 15-year-old Ghanaian student, Javits Frimpong, has been shot dead in the Bronx, New York, following reports that he was being bullied at school.
Frimpong, a student at DreamYard Prep in the Bronx, was found with a gunshot wound to his stomach after police responded to reports of a shooting near East 172nd Street and Cortona Place at about 9:30 a.m.
He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital in a police vehicle but later died from his injuries.
His father, Thomas Frimpong, said he had recently become aware of the bullying and believed the incidents may have contributed to his son’s death.
He told reporters that the school’s principal had contacted him about two students who were allegedly disturbing his son, leading to their suspension.
Recounting what his son had told him, the father said one of the students regularly bullied him, particularly during lunch breaks.
He said: “Every time I’m going to lunch, especially one of them always bullying him. I said, why don’t you report them? He said, I always report them.”
The grieving father is appealing to those responsible for the shooting to surrender to the police.
“I will tell them to give themselves to the police. I don’t think they are going to go free for killing an innocent child,” he said.
He also spoke about the shock of losing his son, saying he was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
“I lost him. Why should I? I don’t know what to do now,” he said.
Meanwhile, police are searching for at least two male suspects, believed to be teenagers, who were reportedly wearing dark clothing and surgical masks.
Surveillance footage obtained by local media reportedly shows two individuals matching the suspects’ descriptions fleeing the scene. One of them is seen returning to retrieve an object he had dropped before both individuals run away.
Police have appealed to anyone with information about the shooting to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-800-577-TIPS.
