By Our Reporter
US President Donald Trump has approved an immediate visa for the mother of a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy who was fatally shot in New York, allowing her to travel to the United States to attend her son’s funeral and mourn him.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the development on Saturday, following a telephone conversation with Trump over the mother’s request to travel to the US.
Mamdani disclosed the decision in a post on X, expressing appreciation to the president for granting the visa.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” the mayor wrote.
He added: “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.”
Mamdani also said that the tragedy had left the entire city of New York mourning.
Javits, a 10th-grade student at Dreamyard Preparatory School, moved from Ghana to the Bronx about a year ago to live with his father, Thomas Frimpong, a taxi driver.
The teenager was reportedly on his way to school on Thursday morning when he was shot in the abdomen near his home, close to Crotona Park in the Bronx.
He was subsequently taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The New York Police Department has yet to announce any arrest or establish the motive behind the killing. However, investigators are reportedly searching for suspects captured fleeing the scene in surveillance footage.
The victim’s father told reporters that his son had experienced bullying at school before his death, although police have not confirmed any connection between the alleged bullying and the shooting.
The killing has also attracted the attention of Ghanaian authorities.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the government would work with US authorities to ensure that justice was served.
Officials of Ghana’s Permanent Mission in New York have also visited the bereaved family as investigations into the teenager’s killing continue.