Ghanaian community in Bronx mourns after fatal shooting of teenager

The Ghanaian community in the Bronx is mourning the death of 15-year-old Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong, who was fatally shot in the abdomen on October 29, 2026, while walking to school. The victim had moved from Ghana to the United States one year prior to join his father.

Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Emmanuel Victor Smith, has called for a thorough investigation to determine if the shooting was linked to reports of bullying. While police are searching for three teenage suspects aged 16 to 18, no arrests have been made. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly facilitated expedited visas for the teenager’s mother to travel from Ghana to New York for the burial.

In Parliament, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin urged the Ghanaian government to maintain sustained diplomatic engagement with U.S. authorities to ensure accountability, stating that “condolences are not a policy. Justice is.”

In a separate tragedy, the community is also grieving the death of 24-year-old Joseph Owusu, a Ghanaian church organist whose body was discovered at a Bronx dumpsite after he had been missing for two weeks.