Rally, vigil held to remember Javits Frimpong as community calls for justice and accountability
By Rob Flaks
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NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — A rally and candlelight vigil was held Saturday night in support of Javits Frimpong.
The 15-year-old was shot and killed on Oct. 29 just blocks from his home in the Bronx while he was on his way to school.
While the NYPD is still investigating the motive, the teen’s father said his son was being bullied at school.
Family and friends marched from Lou Gehrig Plaza to East 171st Street Saturday to demand justice. The march was led by his family members, and hundreds joined their calls of “Justice for Javits.”
The march ended where Javits was gunned down. A memorial is now set up there.
Community leaders and advocates called for an end to gun violence, bullying and for Frimpong’s killers to come forward.
“The people who killed him need to be taken off the street and face accountability,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
Another speaker called for unity against bullies in school. Police have not confirmed that bullying was a motive in the shooting.
Additional speakers included members of the Ben Crump civil rights law firm, who stood by Frimpong’s relatives.
There was an emotional embrace between Javits’s father and students at the school who spoke about their late friend, and gave a message to his killers.
” I feel as if the murderers right now, they feel like they’re comfortable and they’re relaxed, and they are not arrested, y’all time will come,” one student said. “I don’t understand how you could go about your day, knowing you have an innocent boy’s life on your hands.”
Javits Frimpong’s uncle thanked the crowd for the show of support for their family, including Javits’s mother, who came from Ghana.
“You did not just attend a vigil. You stood with the family. You did not light candles. You helped keep the memory of Javits alive,” he said.
Attorneys for the family say they are handling funeral arrangements and will brief the press Wednesday with an update in the case.
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