Investigators are reviewing surveillance video after 15-year-old Javits Frimpong was fatally shot Thursday morning in the Claremont neighborhood.
NEW YORK — Police were searching Friday for people connected to the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy in the Bronx, a killing captured in part on neighborhood surveillance video as investigators worked to determine what led to the attack.
Javits Frimpong was shot shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday near East 171st Street in the Claremont section of the Bronx, according to police and multiple reports. Officers took him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died. No arrests had been announced as of Friday, and police had not publicly established a motive.
Surveillance footage reviewed by news organizations shows a teenager running along the street as another person dressed in dark clothing follows behind. Other people can also be seen in the area. Police have been seeking multiple people believed to have fled after the gunfire, although reports have varied on the precise number investigators were looking for as the inquiry developed.
Early reports citing police sources said investigators were looking for three males, possibly teenagers, who were wearing dark clothing. Some reports said two were wearing blue surgical masks and that the group was seen running toward Crotona Park. Authorities have not announced that any of the people being sought have been charged with a crime.
Frimpong lived only a short distance from where he was shot. His father, Thomas Frimpong, told local news organizations that his son was headed to school when the shooting happened. Police had not independently confirmed every detail of the teen’s movements before the shooting, and investigators had not publicly described the sequence of events that immediately preceded the gunfire.
The teenager’s death prompted a police canvass of the neighborhood as detectives spoke with witnesses and sought additional surveillance footage. The shooting occurred near homes, a park and other community facilities in a busy section of the Bronx, increasing the possibility that cameras or witnesses could provide investigators with more information about the people who fled.
Frimpong’s father said the family had moved from Ghana about a year earlier. He described his son as quiet and focused on school. Candles were placed near the scene as relatives and members of the community mourned the teenager’s death.
Questions remained Friday about why Frimpong was targeted and whether he knew the people seen near the shooting. His father has raised concerns about problems his son had recently reported at school, but police have not announced a connection between those concerns and the killing. No official motive had been released.
The investigation remained active Friday, with detectives continuing to search for those involved and gather evidence. Police had announced no arrests or charges in the case.
Author note: Last updated October 30, 2026.