President Donald Trump has agreed to immediately grant a travel visa to the mother of a 15-year-old boy who was fatally shot while walking to school in the Bronx earlier this week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Saturday.
The teen, Javits Frimpong, immigrated to the United States from Ghana about a year ago to live with his father. He was shot in the abdomen on Thursday morning and later died at St. Barnabas Hospital. The teenager’s mother, identified by Ghanaian officials as Doris Adu Gyamfi, currently resides in Ghana.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” Mamdani wrote on X on Saturday. “Javits Frimpong’s mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person. I just got off the phone with President Trump and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately. All of New York City is mourning this tragedy.”
The White House did not immediately return requests for comment on Saturday, multiple outlets reported. During his second term, Trump has restricted travel and immigration, including halting visa processing for dozens of nations, CNN reported.
A Fatal Encounter on the Way to Class
Police reported that Frimpong was attacked shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday near Crotona Park in the Claremont section of the Bronx. Surveillance footage showed the teenager sprinting through the neighborhood alongside an individual dressed in black, according to the New York Post. Officers discovered Frimpong collapsed near East 171st Street and Third Avenue and transported him to the hospital in a patrol car, where he succumbed to his wound.
Investigators have not formally disclosed a motive. While ABC7 New York reported that authorities were searching for three teenage suspects who remained at large, other reports noted police had not released names or detailed descriptions.
Frimpong’s father, Thomas Frimpong, 60, told reporters that his son was a quiet student who spent much of his time on his phone. The father said the principal of 329 The DreamYard Preparatory School had informed him days earlier that two students were suspended for harassing his son, leading the father to believe the shooting stemmed from school bullying.
The New York City Department of Education said in a statement that counseling and additional support services were made available to staff and classmates, while the agency aids the police investigation.
Support From the Ghanaian Government
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa announced on X that his ministry assigned personnel to guide Gyamfi through the visa process. Ablakwa stated that the administration of Ghanaian President John Mahama will cover her full travel costs and assist with funeral arrangements.
Diplomats from Ghana’s Permanent Mission in New York visited the family and coordinated with municipal authorities, Ablakwa added, emphasizing that his country intends to work closely with U.S. officials to pursue justice.
Mamdani said Friday that his administration deployed grief counselors and outreach workers to the neighborhood. The death has prompted broader alarm across the borough’s West African community.
The Ghana Diaspora Public Affairs Collective expressed deep sorrow and urged city officials to address local security. The advocacy organization noted that an elderly Ghanaian couple was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at a bus stop days before the shooting, and another Ghanaian immigrant was fatally stabbed in January while walking to work. While the group acknowledged no evidence connects the separate crimes to the victims’ nationality, it stressed that the violence has shaken immigrant families throughout the Bronx.
As of Saturday evening, no arrests had been announced, and the New York Police Department said the investigation remains active.
