A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, has been shot dead while walking to school near Corona Park in the Bronx, New York.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) received a report of a shooting near Corona Park on Thursday morning, according to a police spokesperson. Responding officers arrived at approximately 9:24 a.m. and found Frimpong with a gunshot wound to his stomach. He reportedly ran about a block before collapsing. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police are searching for three teenage suspects who fled the scene. Surveillance footage reportedly captured Frimpong running as an individual dressed in black followed him. Another video recording appeared to show masked individuals in dark clothing fleeing the area following the shooting.

Frimpong’s father, Thomas Frimpong, who brought his son from Ghana to the United States a year ago in search of better opportunities, believes the killing may be connected to bullying. He said the school had recently informed him that his son was a victim of bullying rather than an aggressor. “I lost him,” Thomas told reporters on Thursday. “I don’t know what to do now.”

He described his son as precious and intelligent. Frimpong’s mother remains in Ghana.

Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, condemned the killing in a statement on Friday, pledging that the government would pursue justice. “We will pursue justice and we will make sure that those who did this do not get away with it,” he said.