US President Donald Trump has agreed to fast-track an emergency travel visa for the mother of 15-year-old Ghanaian teenager Javits Frimpong, who was fatally shot in the Bronx, New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the decision on Saturday, October 31, 2026, following a telephone conversation with President Trump to facilitate the mother’s immediate travel from Ghana to the United States to mourn her son.
Javits, a 10th-grade student who moved from Ghana to the US about a year ago to reunite with his father, was shot in the abdomen around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, while walking to school near Crotona Park in the Bronx. He was later pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital.
According to his father, the teenager had reportedly experienced severe bullying at school, with two students recently suspended over allegations of targeting him. However, police have not officially established a motive for the killing.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is searching for three teenage suspects believed to be connected to the fatal shooting. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Javits being chased before gunshots were fired, while other footage captured individuals dressed in dark clothing fleeing the scene.
The tragic killing has sparked widespread grief across the Bronx community, with residents, religious leaders and family members organising a candlelight vigil to honour the teenager’s memory and condemn youth violence.
Among those who attended the vigil was Leandra Feliz, the mother of Junior Guzman, a 15-year-old who was brutally murdered in 2018 in a mistaken-identity attack. She expressed solidarity with Javits’ family, describing the repeated loss of young lives as heartbreaking.
The New York City Department of Education has also expressed condolences and announced that counselling and other support services would be made available to affected students, families and school staff.
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, condemned the killing and assured the family that Ghana would pursue justice to ensure those responsible are held accountable.
The Ghana Diaspora Public Affairs Collective also expressed sadness over the incident, noting that Javits had travelled to the United States just one year earlier with hopes of reuniting with his father and building a better future.
President Trump’s decision to facilitate the emergency visa is expected to enable the grieving mother to travel to New York and bid farewell to her son as investigations into the fatal shooting continue.
Source: newsthemegh.com