Mamdani secures immediate visa for mother of slain Bronx student

The 15-year-old boy killed in a Bronx shooting last week had moved to New York City from Ghana the previous year. His mother, who resides in Africa, was granted an immediate visa by President Donald Trump following a direct conversation with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Saturday. The intervention allows the parent to cross the Atlantic to attend the funeral of Javits Frimpong, a 10th grader at Dreamyard Preparatory School.

Mamdani announced the agreement on social media, stating that the president had agreed to the visa immediately after their phone call. The mayor described the death as a pain no parent should endure from thousands of miles away. He noted that the city is mourning the tragedy and that the mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person.

Frimpong was found shot near E. 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighborhood on the morning of Oct. 29. Law enforcement sources indicated he had a gunshot wound to his stomach. He was on his way to school when he was struck. Police transported him in a patrol car to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

City officials gathered for a community rally on Saturday to call for action against gun violence. Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renia Francois represented the administration at the event. A spokesperson for the mayor's office confirmed that Mamdani spoke directly with Javits' father to inform him of the visa approval. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the specific visa action.

The investigation continues with no arrests made yet. Police are searching for three teenage suspects who were last seen wearing all black clothing and medical face masks. They were observed running southbound into Crotona Park near the scene. The city's Office of Community Safety is coordinating support for the family, the school, and the surrounding neighborhood.

The boy's father had been in New York City at the time of the shooting. The visa grant bypasses the standard processing timeline, a rare occurrence for a family of a homicide victim in a major US city. The move places the Ghanaian mother in the position of traveling to the US within days of her son's death.