On the morning of October 29, 2026, 15-year-old Javits Frimpong left the Bronx apartment he shared with his father and began the short walk to DreamYard Preparatory School. The route took him roughly one block from home along Crotona Place near East 171st Street. Around 9:24 a.m., three individuals in black clothing and blue surgical masks confronted him near the edge of Crotona Park. Surveillance video later showed one of them running after Frimpong along the sidewalk; after both left the frame, the attacker fled the opposite way. Frimpong had been sH๏τ once in the abdomen.

Witnesses near a homeless shelter across the street heard the gunsH๏τ and rushed outside. They found the teenager on the ground in a white T-shirt soaked with blood. A shelter manager applied pressure while Frimpong drifted in and out of consciousness. Officers from the 42nd Precinct arrived quickly, placed him in a patrol car instead of waiting for an ambulance, and drove him to St. Barnabas Hospital. He underwent surgery and was initially believed to be stable, but he died a short time later. Police stated he was the intended target.

Investigators recovered additional footage showing the three suspects fleeing into Crotona Park. Later video placed the same individuals entering a subway station and boarding a southbound No. 5 train. Detectives have also reviewed recordings that placed the group in Manhattan earlier that morning. No arrests have been made. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has said the department is examining three possible motives: bullying at school, a robbery that went wrong, or a case of mistaken idenтιтy.

The single sH๏τ, the deliberate pursuit captured on camera, and the fact that Frimpong managed to run roughly another block before collapsing have become central to the reconstruction of the minutes before 9:30 a.m. Detectives continue to collect physical evidence from the scene and review every available camera angle from nearby buildings while the investigation remains active.