A Ghanaian father in the United States has broken down in tears while recounting the final days of his 15-year-old son, Javits Frimpong, who was fatally shot in the Bronx, New York.
Thomas Frimpong, 60, struggled to hold back his emotions as he spoke about losing a son who had only moved from Africa to the United States about a year earlier.
Describing the teenager as quiet and reserved, the grieving father said Javits rarely spoke and preferred spending time alone in his bedroom.
“It’s not easy, ma’am. It’s not easy. I’m here with him,” he said tearfully.
“He’s just one year, he just came from Africa, just one year ago. It was yesterday, he get one year here,” he added.
Beyond the shock of the shooting, Frimpong also recounted concerns about bullying his son had allegedly experienced at school in the days leading up to his death.
According to him, the school principal contacted him about three days before the fatal incident to report that two boys had been disturbing Javits. He said the principal informed him that the two students had been suspended.
The father said he immediately contacted his son to find out whether he was safe and whether he needed to be picked up from school.
Javits reportedly assured him that everything was fine.
However, after the teenager returned home, Frimpong questioned him further and learnt that he had allegedly been experiencing bullying, particularly during lunch breaks.
He said his son told him that he had repeatedly reported the incidents to school authorities.
Frimpong further recalled that the principal had described Javits as an innocent boy who was defending himself during the altercation that resulted in the suspension of the two students.
The grieving father expressed anger over the circumstances surrounding his son’s death and called on those allegedly responsible 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.
Javits was reportedly shot in the abdomen shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighbourhood of the Bronx.
Police officers rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he later died from his injuries.
Authorities are searching for three teenage suspects, reportedly between the ages of 16 and 18. They were last seen wearing black clothing and blue surgical masks.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear, and the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation.
For Frimpong, the loss has left a family grieving a teenager who had only recently arrived in the United States and was still adjusting to life there.
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