New York City Police have claimed that the city's department of education (DOE) delayed the investigation into the murder of a bullied teenager.
Javits Frimpong, 15, was shot in the abdomen around 9.25am last week as he tried to run from a group of masked attackers on his way to school in the Bronx, police said.
The teen's father, Thomas Frimpong, 60, said that Javits had moved to New York City from Ghana almost exactly a year earlier and that he had been getting bullied at school.
Javits was found bleeding on the street by officers responding to a 911 call and was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. The 15-year-old's killers have not been found or arrested.
Police have been investigating the high-profile murder, which drew national attention after Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that President Trump had agreed to immediately grant a visa to Javits's mother so she could attend her son's funeral.
But at a press conference on Monday, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny claimed that the city's DOE was causing a holdup in the investigation.
'We're working with the Department of Education. Unfortunately, they're not willing to give us that information without a subpoena, so we're going through proper channels to get that,' Kenny said.
The DOE website says that student information can be shared with authorities even without a parent's written consent in the case of a 'health or safety emergency.'
Javits Frimpong, 15, was shot in the abdomen around 9.25am last week as he tried to run from a group of masked attackers on his way to school in the Bronx. His killers have not been caught
New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny claimed that the city's Department of Education would not share information with police without a subpoena
Javits was found bleeding on the street by officers responding to a 911 call and was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. Officers are pictured at the crime scene
The DOE told the New York Post on Tuesday, a day after the law enforcement official's claim, that it is fully cooperating with police and provided them with all the material they requested.
However, neither the NYPD nor the DOE would confirm whether the cooperation was a result of police obtaining a subpoena, the outlet reported.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the NYPD and DOE for comment.
New York State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger criticized Mayor Mamdani for the DOE's alleged initial refusal to help the investigation into Javits's murder without a subpoena.
'In Mamdani's New York, the public school system @NYCSchools refuses to help catch a child's murderers,' Yeger wrote on X.
During the press conference on Monday, Chief of Detectives Kenny said that police are investigating whether Javits was bullied and if it contributed to his death, as his father, Thomas, has claimed.
'It's one aspect that we're looking at, as well as some others,' Kenny said.
Thomas told reporters that his son came to the US to pursue a better education and a career in medicine.
Surveillance footage captured Frimpong's suspected killers chasing him before they ran away. They were dressed in all black with surgical masks
President Trump agreed to grant a visa to Javits's Ghanaian mother so that she could attend her son's funeral. She is pictured embracing relatives before traveling to the US
Kenny confirmed to reporters that the investigation revealed Javits was 'very, very into his schoolwork' and would sometimes leave his phone at home so he could focus at school.
Thomas said that the school principal called him three days before Javits was murdered to report that two students were 'disturbing' his son, which subsequently led to their suspension.
Read More
EXCLUSIVE NYC marathon runner was killed by a silent condition. Experts expose the deceptive warning signs
He described a time Javits complained about the bullying he endured, saying: 'He said any time I'm going to lunch, that one, especially one of them, always bullies him.'
Thomas added that his son reported the students on multiple occasions.
When asked what he would tell the shooters, Thomas said: 'To give themselves to the police.'
'I don't think they are going to go free for killing an innocent child,' he added.
Surveillance footage captured Javits's horrific final moments as he bolted from the masked attackers before being shot.
An online fundraiser to support the murdered teen's family said that he was fatally shot just one day after his first anniversary of moving to the US.
Javits was 'full of hope for a brighter future and a better education,' the fundraiser said, adding that his father 'worked tirelessly to support him and provide everything he needed to succeed in school.'
Source link
