Vigil held for Javits Frimpong, 15-year-old who was gunned down in the Bronx
Tributes continue to grow for Javits Frimpong, the 15-year-old who was shot and killed on his way to school in the Bronx last week.
His peers at Dreamyard Prep School held a silent vigil for the teen Monday morning. Hearts remained heavy as students remembered him. The shooting has rocked the neighborhood in Claremont.
The students walked in grief as they held their vigil, holding signs calling for "Justice for Javits," "Forever 15," and "Protect kids, not guns."
Police have not yet revealed a motive in the shooting, but they are looking for three teenagers in connection with it, adding the suspects ran into Crotona Park and were captured on surveillance video jumping a turnstile before they took the 5 train into Manhattan.
Frimpong's father said he was being bullied leading up to his death.
Despite the New York City Department of Education insisting it's doing everything it can to support the ongoing investigation, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CBS News New York the DOE is not being cooperative. Investigators are waiting on a subpoena to obtain records tied to the alleged bullying claims.
"Certainly, we're looking into that with the assistance of the Department of Education, but we're certainly not going to discount the fact that maybe he was a victim of a robbery gone bad or perhaps a mistaken identity," Kenny said.
Students at the high school are still coming to terms with the tragedy. Many of them are angry that his life was taken, and say that more resources to combat gun violence and bullying should be available. Now, they're calling for justice.
"I want to find the people that did it," one student said.
"I believe justice needs to be served. He had friends, he had a community, he had family, and we just really want to bring awareness to gun violence. This shouldn't have not happened to anyone," said another.
"Honestly it's such a struggle that we have to come to school every day, fear for our lives. As a student, school should be one of the only places that we should feel safe," another student said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced over the weekend that he spoke with President Trump on the phone, and the administration has agreed to grant a visa to Frimpong's mother, who lives in Ghana, to enter the country so she can attend her son's funeral. Preparations for that funeral are underway.
Ghana President John Mahama announced that his government will cover the travel costs for Frimpong's mother, assigning a team to assist in the visa application process.
