NYPD arrests 17-year-old suspect over Javits Frimpong murder
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has arrested a 17-year-old boy accused of murdering 15-year-old Javits Frimpong, who was shot dead in the Bronx on 29 October 2026.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has arrested a 17-year-old boy over the murder of Javits Frimpong, a 15-year-old Ghanaian high school student who was shot dead in the Bronx on 29 October. The teenager was arrested on Wednesday morning and charged with murder, the NYPD said on its official X account, according to Punch.
The suspect was taken to New York’s 42nd Precinct for questioning and also faces charges of manslaughter and firearms-related offences, reports ABC7 New York. His identity has not been made public because of his age and police have not established a motive. Investigators have considered possible motives including bullying and robbery, according to the Associated Press.
Javits Frimpong was shot in the abdomen while on his way to school, near East 171st Street and Crotona Place, in the Claremont neighbourhood. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to The Guardian, the teenager had arrived from Ghana about a year earlier to join his father, Thomas Frimpong, and had reported problems with bullying.
The arrest comes after Ghana pledged to defend its nationals killed in the United States, including by hiring American lawyer Ben Crump free of charge on 10 November. The hiring of Ben Crump by Ghana had been announced as part of efforts related to the case.
