A Ghanaian father, Thomas Frimpong, has been thrown into grief after his 15-year-old son, Javits, was shot in the abdomen on his way to school at the Crotona Park, East 171st Street in the Bronx, New York, US
The incident occurred on Thursday at 9:30 a.m and when police arrived the scene and took the victim to the hospital, he didn’t survive.
A surveillance video which the police were reviewing showed a boy chasing him as he ran. The boy armed with a gun wore a black pants, hooded and shot at him while two others stayed across the street near the victim’s house.
Mr Frimpong said his son complained of being bullied in school to him once during the week, adding that his school principal called him on Monday that two of the bullies had been suspended for a week and his son was exonerated.
The father, who is a taxi driver, while speaking with reporters in a deeply sad mood, said his son moved to the U.S. from Ghana exactly a year ago.
He narrated to CBS New York, “He told me that everytime he was going for lunch, one of them in particular used to bully him. I asked him if he reported them and he said he did.
“It’s not easy. He’s my everything. I’m here with him alone. He came from Africa (Ghana) just one year ago. He’s quiet. He does talk. He was always on his phone.I don’t think they are going to go free for what they have done to an innocent child.”
He noted that the boy’s mother was still in Ghana, stating that she was inconsolable when he told her about the incident.
Mr Frimpong added, “She was heartbroken and said she wouldn’t believe until she saw his corpse.”
The police had made no arrest but were looking for three teenage boys connected to the murder.