New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has said US President Donald Trump has agreed to grant an emergency visa to the mother of a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy shot dead in the Bronx, New York.
Mamdani disclosed this on Saturday following a telephone conversation with Trump, saying the arrangement would enable the bereaved mother to travel from Ghana to the United States to attend her son’s funeral.
“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” Mamdani wrote Saturday 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,” he added.
However, the White House had yet to respond to an email from the Associated Press seeking confirmation that the administration would issue the visa.
The deceased, Javits Frimpong, was reportedly shot in the abdomen shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday while walking to school in a Bronx neighbourhood.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Police said no arrest had been made as investigations into the killing continued.
According to US Representative Ritchie Torres, a Democrat representing the Bronx, Frimpong moved from Ghana to the United States about a year ago to reunite with his father and start a new life.
Torres said the teenager’s death had devastated the community, adding that children should be able to attend school without fear for their safety.
“Our entire borough is mourning a young man who should have had his whole future ahead of him,” Torres said.
“Every child in the Bronx deserves to walk to school without fearing for their life, and no parent should ever have to endure what Javits’s father, Thomas, is enduring now.”
The teenager’s father, Thomas Frimpong, described him as a quiet boy who spent much of his time on his mobile phone. He also disclosed that his son had complained about being bullied at school days before the shooting.
“It was the principal who told me,” Thomas Frimpong said.
“He said two guys are disturbing my son so he has suspended the two guys. My son is at school. He’s innocent, so I call him. I talk with my son, he said ‘dad, I’m OK.’ ”
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, said Ghanaian officials in New York were working with local authorities over the incident.
He added that the country’s foreign ministry “will work tirelessly with U.S. authorities to ensure justice is secured.”
Trump’s administration has maintained a tough immigration policy since the beginning of his second term, including a suspension of visa processing for nationals of 75 countries.
