NYPD Seeks Subpoena to Access Records on Students Who Bullied Slain Ghanaian Teen Javits Frimpong

• New York police are being blocked from accessing school records on students suspended for bullying Javits Frimpong
• NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny confirmed the Department of Education refused to release the information without a court-ordered subpoena
• Javits was killed on his way to school just one day after marking a year since immigrating from Ghana to join his father in the United States

New York City police investigating the murder of 15-year-old Ghanaian immigrant Javits Frimpong are being denied access to school records that could identify students previously suspended for bullying him, the NYPD confirmed on Tuesday.

NYDailyNews reported that NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters that the Department of Education has refused to hand over the information without a formal court order.

"We're working with the Department of Education," Kenny said. "Unfortunately, they're not willing to give us that information without a subpoena - so we're going through proper channels to get that information."

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Javits' father, Thomas Frimprong, 60, informed detectives that two fellow students had recently been suspended in connection with bullying his son.

However, Kenny cautioned that investigators have not yet established whether the bullying had any direct link to the killing. "It's one aspect we're looking at," he said, "as well as others."

The teenager was shot in the abdomen on Crotona Place near East 171st Street in the Bronx last Thursday morning, just a block from his home, as he made his way to DreamYard Preparatory School.

Investigators said three attackers dressed in hoods and surgical masks chased him down the street.

Video footage obtained by the Daily News shows one of the assailants pursuing Javits along a pavement before both figures move out of frame, after which the attacker is seen fleeing in the opposite direction.

The attack occurred the morning after Javits marked exactly one year since leaving Ghana to begin a new life in the United States with his father.

Police described him as deeply committed to his education, noting that he made a habit of leaving his mobile phone at home rather than bringing it to school.

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Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels addressed the matter on X, writing that he had spoken personally with the victim's family and visited his school.

Samuels said the Department of Education is doing "everything we can" to support the NYPD's investigation.

Investigators continue to pursue multiple lines of inquiry as they work to identify and apprehend the three attackers.

US congressman attends Javits' vigil

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on US Congressman Ritchie Torres’ attendance at a vigil for Javits Frimpong, the 15-year-old Ghanaian boy killed while walking to school in the Bronx.

Torres shared a message of grief and called for children to be able to travel to school without fear of gun violence.

Source: YEN.com.gh