A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, was shot dead near his Bronx apartment on Thursday, just days after a 73-year-old Ghanaian man and his wife were beaten and robbed at a nearby bus stop. According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), Javits was shot once in the abdomen near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont section of the Bronx. He was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries.
The shooting occurred around the corner from the apartment Javits shared with his father, Thomas Frimpong, 60. Thomas Frimpong described the loss of his only child in the United States, saying "It's not easy for me... He's my everything. I'm here with him alone." Javits had moved to the United States from Ghana about a year earlier to live with his father.
According to Thomas Frimpong, his son's school principal had informed him of an earlier incident in which two boys were suspended after fighting with Javits, and that his son had since confided in him about being bullied at lunchtime despite repeatedly reporting it. The NYPD is searching for three teenage boys, aged between 16 and 18, who were last seen wearing all-black clothing and blue surgical masks.
The police have not yet established what led to the shooting. Thomas Frimpong called on the suspects in the shooting to turn themselves in, telling CBS News New York he did not believe "they are going to go free for killing an innocent child." The shooting has raised fresh safety concerns within the Ghanaian community in the Bronx.
The attack on Javits came just days after a separate attack on a Ghanaian couple at a bus stop on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx. Their daughter, Emelia Sabah, told MyJoyOnline that her 73-year-old father walks her 61-year-old mother to the bus stop every weekday morning before she heads to work. On Monday, just before 5am, the couple were ambushed by four masked attackers on motorcycles.
The attackers beat the 73-year-old man while two others assaulted his wife, striking her in the mouth with a gun as she screamed. The attackers fled with her mother's purse, which contained a debit card, medication and $100 in cash. The ordeal has left the couple's daughter, Emelia Sabah, shaken, saying "Seeing my mom going through that is a very bad experience."
Both attacks occurred in Bronx neighbourhoods home to many Ghanaian families. The NYPD has not announced any arrests in either case. The community is now calling for increased safety measures to protect its residents from such violent attacks.
Key points
- A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy was shot dead in the Bronx.
- The shooting occurred days after a 73-year-old Ghanaian man and his wife were beaten and robbed at a nearby bus stop.
- The NYPD is searching for suspects in both cases but has not announced any arrests.
