President John Dramani Mahama has called on the United States government to take decisive steps to address gun violence and mental health challenges following the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ghanaian student Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong in New York.
The President said the teenager’s death highlighted wider concerns about gun violence in American society, where shootings in schools and workplaces have continued to raise questions about public safety.
Speaking during an engagement with the Presidential Press Corps after returning to Ghana, President Mahama described Javits’ killing as particularly distressing, considering his young age and the fact that he had moved to the United States less than a year earlier to join his father.
“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,” he said.
He stressed that the United States needed to confront the prevalence of firearms and the circumstances contributing to violent incidents across the country.
“I think that one of the issues America has to deal with is the level of gun violence in the society,” President Mahama stated.
He cited incidents in which individuals experiencing stress or other difficulties resort to violence against colleagues at workplaces and children in schools, arguing that gun violence and mental health concerns required broader attention.
The President also expressed concern about the safety of Ghanaians living in the United States, referring to other recent incidents involving Ghanaian nationals, including the discovery of the body of a 24-year-old Ghanaian man at a dumpsite days before his remarks.
However, he emphasised that the problem was not exclusive to Ghanaian immigrants, noting that other immigrant communities and Americans were equally affected by violent incidents.
President Mahama said the developments pointed to a wider societal challenge that required attention beyond the immediate circumstances surrounding individual cases.
He also commended the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ghana’s diplomatic mission in New York for their efforts to facilitate the travel of Javits’ mother, Madam Doris Adu Gyamfi, to the United States to mourn her son and pursue justice.
The government had provided assistance to expedite the necessary travel arrangements and ensure that she received the support required during the difficult period.
Madam Gyamfi travelled to New York on Wednesday, November 4, following intervention by the Ghanaian and United States authorities.
Upon her arrival, she reiterated her demand for accountability, declaring: “I want justice for my son. That’s it.”
Javits was fatally shot on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while walking to school in the Claremont neighbourhood of the Bronx, New York.
Reports indicate that he was shot in the abdomen near East 171st Street and Crotona Place shortly before 9:30 a.m. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The teenager was a student of DreamYard Preparatory School and had relocated from Ghana to join his father, Thomas Frimpong, in New York about a year before the incident. He was previously a student of Adisadel College in Cape Coast.
His father has said Javits had complained about bullying at school and that two students had reportedly been suspended following an incident shortly before the shooting. However, the New York Police Department has not established a confirmed link between the reported bullying and the killing.
The incident has prompted calls from Ghanaian authorities for a thorough investigation and the prosecution of those responsible.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had earlier assured the family of the government’s commitment to pursuing justice, stating: “We will pursue justice, and we will make sure that those who did this do not get away with it.”
Ghana’s Permanent Mission in New York has been engaging the family and relevant United States authorities as investigations continue.
