The father of a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy who was shot dead in the Bronx, New York, has expressed grief over his son's death, insisting that the teenager was innocent and had previously reported incidents of bullying at school.

Thomas Frimpong, 60, said his son, Javits Frimpong, had been living with him in the United States for exactly a year before the tragic incident.

Javits was shot once in the abdomen shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday near East 171st Street and Crotona Place in the Claremont neighbourhood of Bronx.

According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), officers transported the teenager to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Recounting how he received the devastating news, Mr Frimpong said he initially received a call informing him that his son was absent from school, followed by another call reporting the shooting.

"I got a call that my son is not at school, and I said, ' What? He is always at school. Then I had another one that my son had been shot," he recounted.

"The principal gave me the address, and I rushed to the hospital, and they said my son had passed away. It's not easy," he added.

The grieving father described Javits as a quiet and reserved teenager who rarely caused trouble and spent much of his time on his phone.

"I have been here with him. Yesterday [Wednesday] was exactly a year since he came from Africa. He is a quiet boy; he doesn't talk. He is always on his phone," he said.

He said his wife, who is back home in Ghana, is shocked and in disbelief, insisting she will only accept her son's death when she sees his lifeless body.

Mr Frimpong further revealed that his son had previously complained about being bullied by some students at school.

According to him, the school principal had informed him that two students involved in an altercation with Javits had been suspended.

"The principal said two guys were disturbing my son, so he had suspended the two guys. My son was at school, and he was innocent," he stated.

He explained that he subsequently spoke with his son to ascertain his wellbeing and offered to pick him up from school, but Javits assured him that everything was fine.

"I spoke with my son, and he said he was okay. I asked whether I should come and pick him up, and he said he was okay," he recalled.

Mr Frimpong said his son had also disclosed that one of the students repeatedly bullied him whenever he went for lunch, adding that Javits regularly reported the incidents to school authorities.

"My son once told me anytime he was going for lunch, one of the guys bullied him. He said he always reported them," he explained.

"The Principal told me Javits was innocent. He was defending himself, and the other guy came and joined the other, and the two of them got suspended," he added.

The NYPD is searching for three teenage boys, believed to be between 16 and 18 years old, who were last seen wearing black clothing and blue surgical masks.

Police have yet to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting, which occurred near the apartment Javits shared with his father.

Mr Frimpong, who says he has lived in the U.S. for the past 26 years, has called on those responsible for his son's death to surrender to the police and face justice.

"I expect them to give themselves to the police. I don't think they will go free for killing an innocent child," he said.

Investigations into the fatal shooting are ongoing.

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My child does not deserve to die — Father of Ghanaian boy shot in New York speaks out

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