Teenager, 17, Arrested Over Killing of Ghanaian Student Javits Frimpong in Bronx

A 17-year-old boy has been taken into custody in connection with the killing of Javits Frimpong, a 15-year-old Ghanaian who was shot dead while on his way to school in the Bronx, New York.

As first reported by Citi News, citing the New York Daily News, the suspect was being held at a New York Police Department (NYPD) station in the 42nd Precinct on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with charges yet to be filed.

It was not immediately clear whether the teenager is accused of firing the gun or of assisting in the October 29 attack.

According to the report, Frimpong was hit in the abdomen at around 9:24 a.m. on Crotona Place, close to East 171st Street and a block from his home. He was heading to DreamYard Preparatory School at the time.

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Surveillance footage reportedly shows three attackers, wearing hoods and surgical masks, pursuing the teenager along the street before one of them fired.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the attackers shot the boy in the back and then collected the spent shell casings, in what appeared to be an effort to hide evidence. He said this suggested the shooting had been planned.

"All three gave chase," Kenny said last week. He added that robbery did not appear to explain the attack, noting that the boy had dropped his backpack.

Investigators believe the suspects had been in Crotona Park before the shooting and escaped to Manhattan afterwards. Footage reportedly captured them jumping a turnstile at Freeman Street station and boarding a No. 5 train.

Frimpong was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he had surgery, but he died shortly afterwards.

The killing has deeply affected members of the Ghanaian immigrant community in New York and has revived concerns about bullying in the city's schools.

The boy's father told detectives that two other students had recently been suspended for bullying his son. Kenny, however, said investigators had not yet determined whether the alleged bullying was linked to the shooting.

"It's one aspect we're looking at, as well as others," he said.

Police are also looking into whether Frimpong knew those who attacked him or had any earlier connection with them.