Doris Adu Gyamfi had never spoken publicly about her son’s death until she stood at the microphones in Harlem on November 11. “I need justice for my child,” she said, her voice breaking. “I have only one child. Oh, I have only one child.” The words came hours after police announced the arrest of a seventeen-year-old suspect. Gyamfi had arrived in New York only days earlier, traveling on an emergency visa secured after Mayor Zohran Mamdani personally called President Donald Trump and asked him to intervene.

At Accra airport before her departure she told reporters she was going to America to plan her son’s funeral and to seek justice. She repeated that Javits had dreamed of becoming a medical doctor. Ghanaian officials accompanied her to the plane, and staff from Ghana’s permanent mission in New York met her upon arrival. The same day as the arrest she joined Sharpton and Crump at the National Action Network’s Hall of Justice, where the family’s grief was on full display.

Javits’ sister Millicent, a military veteran, stepped to the podium and read from the journal her brother had kept since moving to the United States. He listed his family by name—mother Doris, father Thomas, auntie Diana, brothers Kenneth, Jeff, Richard, Anthony, and sister Millicent—and wrote that school had been good since he came. He expressed pride in being in America and stated his intention to become a physician and later serve in the military, following the path of siblings who had already worn the uniform. The reading left many in the room in tears.

Thomas Frimpong, the father who had brought his son to New York on October 28, 2025, stood nearby. He has described Javits as quiet and diligent, a boy who complained of bullying only days before the shooting. The principal’s call about the suspensions had come just two days earlier. While the family welcomed the arrest, they stressed that it brought only partial relief. Relatives continue to demand that the two remaining suspects be identified and charged.

The press conference also featured calls for broader discussion about gun violence among young people. Crump told reporters that the case must become a teachable moment. As the family prepares for the funeral scheduled for mid-November, the mother’s simple statement—“I have only one child”—continues to circulate among those following the investigation into the killing of the Ghanaian teenager who had been in the country for just one year and one day.