Bronx man sentenced in shooting death of teen walking home from school: ‘Angellyh’s memory will live on forever’

MELROSE, the Bronx (PIX11) – A Bronx man who shot and killed a teenage girl as she walked home from school last year was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison, authorities said.

Jeremiah Ryan, 18, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Angellyh Yambo in the Bronx on April 8, 2022, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

Ryan got into a fight with two men in front of 510 East 156th St. in Melrose and fired at least six shots, according to authorities. The stray bullets struck Angellyh, a 17-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl who were all innocent bystanders walking home from school, authorities said. Angellyh was killed, and the two other teens survived.

“His actions ended the life of a beautiful young girl and shattered the lives of the survivors and the families of the victims,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement.

Angellyh was a ninth-grader at University Prep Charter High School. The straight-A student wanted to be a doctor and had big dreams for her future, her mother said.

“There wasn’t a person who didn’t love her because she was a sparkle, sassy, a diva. She was loved by everybody,” said Angellyh’s mother, Yanely Henriquez.

The corner of Bailey Avenue and Bailey Place in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood where Angellyh grew up was renamed in her honor last April on the anniversary of her death.

“Now she’s famous how she always said she was going to be. It wasn’t in the way I wanted, but at least we turned this tragedy into a purpose,” Henriquez said last April.

The weapon used in the deadly shooting was a “ghost gun,” according to authorities. Ghost guns are unregistered and untraceable weapons that New York City and state police are trying to eliminate.

“Since Angellyh’s death, her family members have channeled their grief into action by
starting a foundation to honor her memory,” Clark said. “They have met with elected officials and supported legislation targeting ghost guns and have attended multiple anti-violence events my Office has held. Through their work, Angellyh’s memory will live on forever.”