November 12, 2026 NEW YORK, NY In an emotional, heart-wrenching scene inside Harlem’s National Action Network headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, the grieving parents of slain 15-year-old Bronx student Javits Frimpong broke down in tears after learning that police had just arrested a teenage suspect in their son's murder.

Moments before stepping up to the microphones alongside Rev. Al Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, authorities informed the family that a 17-year-old male had been taken into custody and charged in connection with the fatal shooting.

Mother Carried from Podium Amid Overwhelming Grief

Javits’ mother, Doris Adu-Gyamfi—who only recently arrived in the United States from Ghana on an emergency visa following her son's death—wept uncontrollably throughout the press conference, burying her face in Rev. Sharpton's chest.

When she approached the podium to address the cameras, she managed to choke out just five devastating words before collapsing in grief and having to be carried away:

“I only had one child.”

A Bright Future Cut Short After Moving from Ghana

Javits’ father, Thomas Frimpong, also broke down as attorney Ben Crump stood beside him with a hand on his shoulder. Through tears, the mourning father recounted bringing his son to New York from Ghana almost exactly one year prior to pursue his education and dream of becoming a doctor.

“I remember last year on the 28th of October 2025, I brought Javits from Ghana to continue his education here in the United States. I think it was like 4:30, I picked him up from JFK, and in fact, he was very, very, very excited, and he was living with me. And very unfortunately, very, very unfortunately, on the 29th day of October, I was at work when I heard that my son had been shot. It wasn’t easy,” Thomas Frimpong said.

Sister Millicent Frimpong shared that her brother was deeply dedicated to his studies and thrilled to be building a life in New York.

• Academic Ambition: Javits dreamed of becoming a physician.

• Fatal Morning Ambush: While walking to school near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont section of the Bronx on October 29, surveillance cameras captured three disguised suspects approaching the teen.

• Deadly Chase: Javits attempted to run for his life, dropping his backpack as he fled, before being fatally gunned down.

While the family and their legal team are examining whether school bullying played a role in the attack, police sources noted that the 17-year-old suspect in custody did not attend the same school as Frimpong.

Case Summary & Charges Filed

Sharpton and Crump Demand Justice and Gun Trafficking Accountability

Standing beside the devastated parents, civil rights leaders demanded that law enforcement prosecute not only all three suspects involved in the ambush, but also the traffickers supplying illegal firearms to teenagers.

Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump stated:

“Why did they kill this young man, this person with such a bright future? And it is important to note that when we stand for justice for children who are taken from this earth far too soon, it doesn’t matter if the finger that pulled the trigger was a black finger or a white finger. The pain is still the same.”

Rev. Al Sharpton vowed to keep pressure on prosecutors until every link in the chain of violence is held accountable.

Rev. Al Sharpton added:

“We are not going to let the Javits case rest until those who use the guns are prosecuted, and where they got the guns from are also prosecuted. People that are making profit, trafficking guns in our community need to face the wrath of our community.”

Javits Frimpong will be laid to rest in the Bronx on November 20.

Sign in with Google