American rapper Cardi B has reacted to the killing of 15-year-old Ghanaian student Javits Frimpong in the Bronx, saying the tragedy is the reason she would never raise a child in the New York borough or other parts of the city.
Frimpong was shot while walking to school in the Bronx on Thursday, October 29, 2026, in a case that has drawn widespread reactions from Ghanaians at home and abroad.
Reacting to the incident, Cardi B, who grew up in the Bronx, said she would not raise a child in the neighbourhoods she named or in New York’s public schools.
“Jarvis is the reason why I would never raise a kid in the Bronx, Harlem, Washington Heights. I will never raise a kid in a New York public school. I will never raise a kid in the hood,” she said.
The rapper described life in such areas as “a game of survival,” adding that young people in parts of New York had become increasingly aggressive.
She also questioned the mindset of the teenagers police are searching for in connection with the shooting.
“Even the kids that killed that boy, what is wrong with you? How do you wake up in the morning and say ‘today is a good day to kill someone who has not wronged or attacked me’?” she asked.
Cardi B advised New Yorkers hoping to start families to consider leaving the city, saying the environment was no longer safe for raising children.
“If you are in New York and you want to have kids, move out because the kids there are so nasty,” she said.
Javits Frimpong moved from Ghana to the United States about a year before his death to join his father, Thomas Frimpong, a 60-year-old taxi driver. He was reportedly shot once shortly before 9:30 a.m. near East 171st Street in the Claremont area of the Bronx and later died in hospital.
The teenager was a student at DreamYard Preparatory School. His father told CBS News New York that the school principal had contacted him days before the shooting over a fight involving his son and two other boys, who were suspended.
Thomas Frimpong said his son had complained of being bullied at lunch, although police have not confirmed whether bullying was connected to the killing.
The New York Police Department is searching for three teenage boys aged between 16 and 18, who were last seen wearing all-black clothing and blue surgical masks. No arrests had been reported at the time of the report, and authorities had not disclosed a motive for the shooting.
The killing has sparked outrage among Ghanaians in the United States and at home, with calls for a thorough investigation and justice for the deceased teenager.
Ghanaian authorities have also demanded accountability, while community members and religious leaders have held vigils in memory of the teenager.
Cardi B’s comments have further intensified the debate about youth violence, school safety and the challenges of raising children in some New York neighbourhoods.