Grieving mother sues ghost gun kit maker Polymer80 for fatal shooting of daughter in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- Grieving mother Yanely Henriquez is suing the manufacturer of the gun used by the shooter who killed her 16-year-old daughter Angellyh Yambo in the Bronx in 2022.
Police said the bullet that struck Yambo came from a ghost gun. Henriquez is still heartbroken almost two years after her daughter's death.
"She was my life, my oxygen, my everything," said Henriquez. "She's my best friend and I say 'is' because I still feel her. She's always with me."
Henriquez carries her daughter everywhere she goes. A picture in a pendant, her face on her nails and clothing, and her spirit could be felt on the walls of her home.
Yambo, a high school student with dreams of becoming a doctor, was shot and killed in April 2022. It happened blocks away from her school in broad daylight.
The 17-year-old who pulled the trigger pleaded guilty to Yambo's murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Detectives said the bullet came from a ghost gun.
"We want to bring awareness. We want kids to stop dying for no reason," said Henriquez.
Henriquez filed a lawsuit against Polymer80, a firearm manufacturing company that sells ghost gun kits.
"The family has stepped up to bring down ghost gun manufacturers. A lawsuit that is probably overdue in New York," said attorney Edward Steinberg. "It's marked that way on the frame itself, that it's a Polymer80. Again, sadly one that we know is unserialized, unmarked otherwise, and yet gets distributed into the stream of commerce."
According to the complaint, "Polymer80 intentionally structured their business to circumvent firearm laws by designing, manufacturing, and selling ghost gun kits that can readily be assembled into functional firearms, without a background check."
Henriquez said the person who pulled the trigger wasn't the only one who killed her daughter. She also blames the company that sold him the weapon.
"He's in jail, yes, but that doesn't bring me back my daughter. But saving another life would make me feel better," said Henriquez. "Every day, we always said I love you. Every single day."
We reached out to Polymer80 for comment, but did not get a response.