17-year-old boy arrested over alleged murder of Ghanaian student in New York

The New York Police Department has arrested a 17-year-old suspect in connection with the killing of 15-year-old Ghanaian student, Javits Frimpong, who was shot dead while walking to school in the Bronx on October 29, 2026.

The police department announced the arrest in a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, confirming that detectives apprehended the teenager earlier that morning and charged him 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 department said.

According to ABC7 New York, the suspect was taken to the 42nd Precinct on Wednesday morning for questioning.

The television station further reported that he was facing additional charges of manslaughter and firearm-related offences.

Authorities have withheld the suspect’s identity because he is a minor. Police have also yet to establish or disclose the motive behind the killing.

Frimpong was shot in the abdomen on October 29 while heading to school near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighbourhood of the Bronx.

He was subsequently rushed to a hospital, where medical personnel pronounced him dead.

In a report published on October 30, The Guardian said Frimpong had relocated from Ghana to the United States about a year earlier to reunite with his father, Thomas Frimpong.

His father told the newspaper that the teenager had previously complained about being bullied at school, adding that two students were reportedly suspended over harassment.

However, investigators have not established any connection between the alleged bullying and the fatal shooting.