The mother of Javits Frimpong, the 15 year old shot and killed on his way to school in the Bronx, will be able to travel from Ghana to New York to bury her son, according to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani said Saturday that he spoke with Trump by phone, and that Trump agreed to grant a visa to Doris Adu Gyamfi right away.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” Mamdani wrote on X. “Javits Frimpong’s mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person. I just got off the phone with President Trump and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately. All of New York City is mourning this tragedy.”
The White House had not responded to the Associated Press’s request to confirm that the administration would issue the visa.
Ghana’s government quickly announced it would help get her there. Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Ghana will cover the full cost of Adu Gyamfi’s travel to New York. He said he spoke with her on Friday and assigned officials from his ministry to help her with the visa application. He thanked Mamdani and wrote that Ghana welcomed “President Trump’s timely decision,” adding, “We have always known we can count on our own Kwame Mamdani.” Kwame is Mamdani’s middle name, a Ghanaian name his parents gave him.
Adu Gyamfi is expected to travel to New York in the coming days.
Javits was walking to school in the Bronx shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday when he was shot in the abdomen, according to the NYPD. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead later that day. No arrests have been made, and police have not said what led to the shooting.
His father, Thomas Frimpong, 60, told the New York Post that Javits was being bullied at DreamYard Preparatory School, and that he believes the bullying is connected to his son’s death.
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Javits came to the Bronx from Ghana about a year ago to live with his father and start a new life in the United States, according to U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the area. His mother stayed behind in Ghana, which is why she needed a visa to come say goodbye.
His killing has drawn attention in both countries, and people in New York and Ghana are calling for a full investigation and justice for Javits Frimpong.
