NYC girl, 16, who was killed in crossfire near her Bronx high school Friday was a 'beautiful soul'

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A 16-year-old girl who died in a shooting near her Bronx high school was a ‘beautiful soul’ who was diligent about her school work and ‘had her whole life in front of her,’ her family said, and police have questioned a person of interest.

Angellyh Yambo, 16, was walking home with two friends at around 2pm on Friday when she was struck in the chest with a bullet, having been caught in the crossfire of two reported criminals on opposite sides of the street when an argument broke out between them. Police have questioned a suspect on Saturday, but they have not released his name.

She was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center after emergency personnel were seen performing chest compressions on her in the street as blood pooled around her. Yambo could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Her devastated family told the New York Post that Yambo was never one to be found on the streets and was a straight-A student who enjoyed her school work.

‘She was a girl who went to school and came straight home. She was never in the street. She was one of the sweetest girls you’d ever meet,’ her aunt Margarita Yambo told the Post.

‘She was a beautiful soul. She was a straight-A student. She had her whole life in front of her.’

Another female, 16, and her male, 17, who have not been identified, were struck in the shin and buttocks, respectively, police said. They are reportedly in stable condition and are expected to live.

Police believe the children were not the intended targets and said surveillance footage showed ‘two brazen criminals’ arguing before the shots were fired near University Prep High School.

Angellyh Yambo, 16, (pictured in 2020) was walking home with two others around 2pm on Friday when she was struck in the chest with a bullet

Her ‘devastated’ family said Yambo was never one to be found on the streets and was a straight-A student (pictured in 2020)

Her other aunt, Elvia Henriquez, 36, said the ‘loving and caring’ girl’s mother was ‘still in shock’ and ‘has not said much.’

‘She’s in very big disbelief at the moment,’ Henriquez told the New York Post.

Yambo’s childhood best friend, Hazel Cheeseboro, said: ‘Her mom was heartbroken. She is trying to hang in there, but she’s not feeling that great. I mean, she just lost her daughter, but she’s trying.

‘She didn’t deserve to be put down the way she was… I am heartbroken. She always looked at the bright side, never the bad side of anything. That was her,’ she told the newspaper.

The girl’s mother reportedly arrived on the scene after first responders were unable to resuscitate her daughter.

‘The mother was screaming hysterically. The police were holding her back,’ a superintendent of a nearby building told the New York Post.

‘I felt her pain in her scream. There is nothing stronger than a mother’s scream.’

Her aunt said the young ‘loving and caring’ girl was fond of making and was getting good at it (pictured in 2020)

Besides being a straight-A student, Yambo (pictured in 2019) reportedly was a shoulder to lean on, her friend said. And she enjoyed playing Call of Duty and Fortnite and listening to Beyoncé and Rihanna

Yambo (pictured with family in 2018) was a big sister to three brothers and her mother is reportedly in ‘disbelief’ over her daughter’s tragic passing. Her mother reportedly arrived on the scene after first responders were unable to resuscitate her and was seen screaming and being held back by police

Yambo’s three younger brothers are also reportedly ‘having a really hard time’ dealing with their sister’s death. Margarita described the girl as ‘a great big sister’ and added that her niece ‘loved makeup’ and was getting good at it.

Besides being a straight-A student, Yambo reportedly was a shoulder to lean on, her friend said. And she enjoyed playing Call of Duty and Fortnite, and listening to Beyoncé and Rihanna.

She had just started at University Prep High School as a ninth-grader and had told Cheeseboro only a week ago how she was excited about making new friends and getting a summer job, the New York Post reported.

The shooting occurred outside University Heights High School’s South Bronx Campus on East 156th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue.

Police told the New York Daily News that the gunman had been arguing with someone across the street, when he pulled out the weapon and opened fire.

None of the teens were the intended target.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described the fatality victim as ‘a young woman with a bright future.’

Yambo (pictured on Friday) was shot and killed and two others were injured outside of the South Bronx High School as they walked home from school

Police are seen investigating the scene on Friday afternoon around 1.45pm

Police roped of the area where a 16-year-old girl was shot and killed outside of the South Bronx High School on Friday. Police were seen performing chest compressions on the girl as blood pooled around her

A man at the scene reacts as he sees the body of the 16-year-old girl

Authorities set up little cones on the scene. Two others – a male, 17, and female, 16 – were also injured in the buttock and shin, respectively and all three teens were rushed to the hospital

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell (middle) held a press conference outside the scene on Friday

Three to six shots were reportedly fired in a westbound direction from the suspect who was standing on the east side of the street.

Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that two males across the street from each other got in an argument prior to the shots being fired.

‘At this point in our early investigation, that the brazen criminals opened fire after a dispute,’ Sewell said at a brief press conference on Friday.

No arrests have been made and police are now searching for a Hispanic man in his 20s, who was last seen wearing a gray tracksuit and a black vest and was seen driving westbound, officials confirmed.

‘At this time, we have no identity on the shooter,’ NYPD Chief Timothy McCormack of Bronx Detectives said at the press conference on Friday.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, 61, was notified and left the Yankees home opener game early after hearing about it, his press secretary said on Twitter.

Attorney General Letitia James, 63, to the horror on Twitter, writing: ‘This is devastating. Yet another shooting in our city, yet another young life taken too soon.

‘I’m sending my deepest condolences to the family of this young girl and I’m praying for the full recovery of the other two teenagers who were shot.’

The family is now calling for police in the streets, as they fear gun violence, which hs risen significantly in the city.

‘“I’m scared every single day to go outside because of this gun violence,’ Margarita told the New York Post. ‘Put more cops in the street, every corner. I don’t know. I don’t know. This isn’t something that should have happened

‘I hope they find these animals. Turn themselves in or I hope the cops get them and they serve a lifetime in jail.’

Henriquez agreed, stating: ‘Be mindful of what you’re doing during a dispute. Think before you do anything. People, innocent people are losing their lives over situations that are not worth it.’

The scene was rope off with caution tape as police investigate

Police are now looking for a man who drove away westbound and was last seen wearing a gray tracksuit and black vest

Police have said the teens were not the intended target of the shooting and that six shots were fired

A Bronx local Freddy Brown said it was ‘unbelievable,’ but he was wasn’t ‘surprised.’

‘No, it’s not a surprise, because you hear shots all the time in this area,’ the unidentified local said. ‘But it’s surprising to hear it’s three young kids in the area. You don’t hear about young teenagers getting shot in the area, but it happens all over now.’

Bronx worker Eddie Rosado also agreed with Brown’s statements saying: ‘It’s getting to the point now where it’s an every day thing. When I was a teenager, this stuff wasn’t going on this much, it’s crazy.’

Rosado said he was ‘definitely not’ surprised, but he felt safe ‘for the most part, because I grew up in the Bronx.’

‘It’s my environment, but when stuff happens like this so close, it’s a little rough, it’s hard,’ he said.

NYC crime is up almost 50 percent compared to last year and shooting victims have risen 14.5 percent.

‘We need more patrol in the area,’ Brown said. ‘I’m scared for my grandkids.’

The shooting happened on East 156th Street outside of the South Bronx High School (pictured)

The teens were taken to Lincoln Medical Center, where one girl, 16, succumbed to her injuries. The other girl was shot in the shin and the male was shot in the buttocks. They were reportedly not the intended targets of the drive-by shooting