Teen arrested in killing of Ghanaian student, 15, on his way to school in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — A teenager was arrested Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old Ghanaian immigrant on his way to school, New York City police said as the victim’s family, Ghana’s government and civil rights advocates pressed for more information.

The 17-year-old male suspect was arrested on murder and other charges in the Oct. 29 death of Javits Frimpong, the New York Police Department said. The suspect’s name wasn’t released and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he has an attorney who can respond to the allegations.

The killing has sparked protests in New York and prompted Mayor Zohran Mamdani to ask President Donald Trump to arrange a visa for Frimpong’s mother to travel to the U.S.

Police didn’t say what motivated the gunfire on a Bronx street as Frimpong was walking to school. The teen’s family has said he was being bullied at school, and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said last week that officers were looking into bullying or other possible motives, such as robbery. Kenny suggested there were “three perpetrators” involved.

News of the arrest came as Frimpong’s mother, his father, Thomas Frimpong, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Ghana’s U.N. ambassador, Samuel Yao Kumah, gathered in New York on Wednesday for a previously planned news conference to appeal for tips in the case.

After leading a chant of “Justice for Javits!,” Crump noted the arrest, but added: “What we’re all wondering is: Why? Why did they kill this young man, this person with such a bright future?”

Frimpong arrived in the Bronx from Ghana a year ago to be with his father and begin a new life in the U.S. Thomas Frimpong has said that school bullies were bothering his son, a quiet teen who spent much of his time on his cellphone. Two students were suspended because of the bullying, the father said.