President John Mahama has urged the United States to address the growing problem of gun violence following the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ghanaian teenager Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong in New York.
Speaking during an engagement with the Presidential Press Corps after returning to Ghana, President Mahama said the teenager’s death was particularly heartbreaking given his age and the short time he had spent in the United States.
Javits had reportedly moved from Ghana to join his father in New York less than a year before he was killed.
“We don’t yet know exactly what the cause of it is. Some ascribe it to bullying. But, of course, the NYPD is investigating it,” President Mahama said.
He said the incident had brought renewed attention to gun violence in American society, including shootings in schools and workplaces.
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“I think that one of the issues America has to deal with is the level of gun violence in the society,” he said.
President Mahama also expressed concern about other violent deaths involving Ghanaians in the United States, including the recent discovery of the body of a 24-year-old Ghanaian at a dumpsite.
He said gun violence and violent crime were broader societal challenges in the United States and were not limited to incidents involving Ghanaian nationals.
Javits was shot in the abdomen on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while walking to school near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighbourhood of the Bronx.
Police officers rushed him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
He was a student of DreamYard Preparatory School in the Bronx. His father, Thomas Frimpong, described him as a quiet and intelligent boy who had hoped to become a doctor.
His father told American media that Javits had complained about being bullied by other students at school. He also said two students had reportedly been suspended following an incident involving his son shortly before the shooting.
The New York Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
President Mahama commended the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for supporting the family following the tragedy, particularly for facilitating the travel of Javits’ mother from Ghana to the United States to mourn her son.
He also praised Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister James Gyakye Quayson for the assistance provided to the family during his absence.
The President said Ghana’s diplomatic mission in New York had visited the bereaved family to offer condolences, while the Foreign Affairs Minister had directed the mission to provide further assistance where possible.
