The Bronx gathered Friday night for 15-year-old Javits Frimpong, a boy police say was fatally shot Thursday morning while walking to school. Religious leaders, family members and neighbors stood together at the spot where he collapsed, turning a stretch of sidewalk into a place of mourning.
Leandra Feliz came to the vigil because she has lived this kind of loss before. She lost her own 15-year-old son in 2018, and said she was there to support Frimpong's family: "I'm only here to show support to the family because here we are again, another child of 15-years-old lost and I just want to be here to let the family know I'm here."
That grief has been sharpened by what the family says happened before the killing. Frimpong's father said he brought his son from Ghana about a year ago in hopes of a better life, and he now faces the nightmare of burying him in New York while Frimpong's mother is trying to travel to see his body. Police have made no arrests and are searching for three teenage boys.
The shooting also landed in a citywide argument over safety that has become hard to ignore in the Bronx. City officials have said major crime there fell by nearly 12% through Sept. 30, but people at the vigil said those numbers do not match what they are living through in the neighborhood. The New York City Department of Education said counseling and other supports are available to students, families and staff as the school community absorbs the loss.
The unanswered question is no longer whether the boy's death will leave a mark. It already has. The issue now is who shot Javits Frimpong, why it happened, and whether the three teenagers police are searching for will be identified before another family is forced to gather at a vigil like this one.
