15-YEAR-OLD JAVITS FRIMPONG SHOT AND KILLED ON HIS WAY TO SCHOOL IN THE BRONX

Javits Frimpong, who moved from Ghana about a year ago to live with his father, was shot Thursday morning in the Bronx. His father says he believes bullying at school played a role. Police have made no arrests and have not confirmed a motive.

BRONX — Javits Frimpong, 15, was shot and killed Thursday morning while walking to school in the Bronx, police said. He was struck once in the abdomen shortly before 9:30 a.m. near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont section, about two blocks from his home, and later died at St. Barnabas Hospital.

Javits had moved from Ghana to the United States about a year ago to live with his father, Thomas Frimpong, 60. His mother remains in Ghana. He was a student at DreamYard Preparatory School, and family accounts reported in the press described him as a quiet boy who had hoped to become a doctor.

His father told reporters that the school's principal had called him just days before the shooting to say two boys had fought with Javits at school and were suspended for a week, and that the principal told him Javits was not to blame and had been defending himself. Javits had also told his father that a student bullied him repeatedly at lunch and that he had reported it several times. His father believes the bullying may be connected to his son's killing.

Police are searching for three suspects believed to be between 16 and 18 years old, described as wearing black clothing and blue surgical masks, who fled the scene after the shooting. No arrests have been made, and the motive remains under investigation. Police have not confirmed any link between the bullying and the killing, and have not said whether Javits was targeted.

The school and the city's Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to CBS News New York reporting.

Thomas Frimpong, who had woken his son for school that morning, called his boy "my everything" as he spoke to reporters from the hospital, and said he had to break the news to relatives still in Ghana.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Reporting: New York Post