Saturday, April 8th marked a year since Angellyh Yambo’s death from stray gunfire while walking home from her school, University Prep Charter School. A tribute was held for the 16-year-old Yambo with a street being named after her at an event that was attended by her parents, friends, and some of New York City’s prominent politicians. The street named after Yambo is located in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood where she grew up in the Bronx. Angellyh Marieh Yambo Way is at the Bailey Place and Bailey Avenue intersection.
Yambo was reportedly a straight-A student with a bright future ahead of her. She is described by those who knew her as a bright and cheerful student with dreams of becoming a doctor. The naming of a street after their daughter was a bittersweet moment for Yambo’s parents Manuel Yambo and Yanela Henriquez.
“This was the very place where my baby was born and raised,” said Manuel Yambo. “There are so many memories of Angellyh here. Whenever I look up at the street sign, I’ll see my daughter’s name, and I will remember all the great memories my daughter and I had.”
“Seeing her name now where she was raised and loved means a lot. I didn’t want her name to be in a place where she lost her life,” said Yanely Henriquez.
17-year-old Jeremiah Ryan is alleged to have fired the gun that killed 16-year-old Yambo. Ryan is currently facing a murder charge. On the day of the shooting, Ryan was reportedly in an argument with someone, leading to him pulling out a ghost gun and firing it. Yambo was not the target of the shooting but was struck by a stray bullet and killed.
The circulation of ghost guns in New York City has been lamented by the authorities. The firearms are called ghost guns because they are easy to build and are difficult to trace as they do not have serial numbers.
“We are extremely dogmatic about removing these illegal guns off our streets. It is killing our community in a real way. The extreme repeated offenders of violence over and over again have no place on our streets. We cannot continue to be a safe haven for violent people,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
Henriquez said that despite losing her daughter, she decided to use her loss to create something positive. She founded the Angellyh Yambo Foundation with the goal of providing after-school programs to keep young people occupied and away from trouble in the streets.
“We turned this tragic moment into something positive, and through the foundation, we’ll live through her legacy,” Henriquez said.
