The New York Police Department has arrested a 17-year-old boy over the murder of 15-year-old Ghanaian student, Javits Frimpong, who was shot dead while walking to school in the Bronx on October 29, 2026.
The NYPD announced the arrest in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, saying detectives arrested the teenager earlier that morning and that he was being charged with murder.
“Earlier this morning, NYPD detectives arrested a 17-year-old male for the murder of 15-year-old Javits Frimpong on October 29, 2026 in the Bronx. He is being charged with murder.
“The NYPD will be relentless in our efforts to get dangerous people out of our communities, especially when it involves the murder of a 15-year-old boy,” the police department said.
According to ABC7 New York, the suspect was taken to the 42nd Precinct for questioning on Wednesday morning.
There, the station reported that he was also facing manslaughter and firearm-related charges.
The suspect’s identity has not been released because he is a minor. Police have also not disclosed a motive for the killing.
Frimpong was shot in the abdomen on October 29 while walking to school near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont section of the Bronx.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Guardian, in a report published on October 30, said the teenager had moved from Ghana to the United States about a year earlier to reunite with his father, Thomas Frimpong.
His father told the newspaper that his son had complained of bullying at school and that two students had reportedly been suspended over harassment.
However, investigators had not established a link between the alleged bullying and the fatal shooting.
PUNCH had earlier reported the incident in a story published on October 30, titled, ‘15-year-old Ghanaian boy shot dead near New York school’.
The newspaper reported that police were searching for three teenage suspects after the shooting.
In a follow-up report published on November 3 in its So This Happened series, PUNCH also reported the family’s calls for justice and the efforts by Ghanaian authorities to engage their American counterparts over the killing.
The latest arrest was also reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday, November 11.
AP said investigators had considered bullying, robbery and other possibilities, but police had not established a motive.
The arrest comes amid calls by Frimpong’s family and members of the Ghanaian community for justice over his killing.
(Punch)
