Mamdani Says Trump Agreed to Grant a Visa So the Mother of a Ghanaian Teen Killed in the Bronx Can Attend His Funeral
The New York mayor says he got the president on the phone Saturday. Fox says the White House had not yet commented. The 15-year-old was shot on his way to school Thursday and no arrest has been made.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says President Trump has agreed to grant a U.S. visa to the mother of a 15-year-old killed in the Bronx, so she can attend his funeral, Fox News reports.
What Mamdani said. In a Saturday post on X, Mamdani wrote that Javits Frimpong's mother "deserves to say goodbye to her son in person," and that "I just got off the phone with President Trump and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately." Fox says it asked the White House for comment. We have not seen a White House confirmation.
The shooting. Police say Frimpong was walking to school in the Bronx shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday when he was shot in the abdomen. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. No arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, said Frimpong came from Ghana a year ago to live with his father and start a new life. Torres said, "Every child in the Bronx deserves to walk to school without fearing for their life."
The family. His father, Thomas Frimpong, described him as a quiet teenager and said the principal had told him days earlier that two students were bothering his son and had been suspended. Ghana's foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said Ghanaian officials in New York are working with local authorities. He welcomed Trump's "timely decision" on the visa and said Ghana will pay the mother's travel costs and help with funeral costs. He named her as Doris Adu Gyamfi.
What to keep in mind. The visa decision is reported only on Mamdani's word and the Ghanaian minister's reaction so far. The shooter and motive are unknown, and the bullying account comes from the father.