A heart-wrenching tragedy has struck a community in Buckeye, Arizona, leaving a young woman mourning the loss of her unborn child and her closest friend. Abby Krebs, a 17-year-old who was expecting, has been left devastated following an alleged domestic violence incident on May 14. Tragically, the shooting not only claimed the life of her unborn baby but also that of her pregnant best friend, Rylee Montgomery.
Montgomery, only 16 years old and three months pregnant, was fatally shot in the same incident. Authorities have charged Michael Sanchez, 18, the father of Montgomery’s unborn child, with the shooting. Police suspect the violent act was linked to ongoing domestic violence and threats Sanchez reportedly made against Montgomery and her family.
Both Sanchez and an accomplice, Anthonio Tequida, 19, have been apprehended. While Sanchez faces three counts of first-degree murder, Tequida is accused of serving as his getaway driver following the tragic event.
According to a family statement on a fundraising page, Montgomery and another friend, Myah Hembree, 22, had gone to visit Krebs for a casual get-together when the shocking incident took place.
Sanchez was arrested at the scene and is facing three counts of first-degree murder, as police also arrested a second man, Anthonio Tequida, 19, who allegedly posed as Sanchez’s getaway driver.
The tragedy unfolded after Montgomery and her friend Myah Hembree, 22, visited Krebs’ home to ‘hang out together’, their family wrote in a GoFundMe.
The family said Montgomery and Sanchez had been ‘arguing for most of the day’, and said Krebs believed if she was with her friend then ‘she would be safe from her ex-boyfriend.’
Police said Sanchez arrived at the home around 8pm, and opened fire when the three girls went outside to talk to him.
Abby Krebs, 17, said she has been left devastated after losing her baby and her pregnant best friend to an alleged domestic violence-related shooting
Krebs, 17, was shot in the back on May 14, in Buckeye, Arizona, as her pregnant best friend Rylee Montgomery, 16, (left) was killed
Krebs said before the shooting, Montgomery had told Sanchez she ‘wanted to leave him’, and said she was ‘scared he was going to kill her’ as he had ‘threatened it so many times’, she told AZ Family.
The 17-year-old said Sanchez used location app Life360 to track Montgomery to her home, and said when he arrived all three girls went outside to help Montgomery speak to him.
She said she then ‘heard a gunshot, and saw my best friend fall to the floor.’
Krebs alleged that Sanchez then pointed a gun at her and Hembree and opened fire, striking her in the back.
She said she survived by crawling into a pile of rocks near her home for cover, as Sanchez allegedly continued firing at Hembree.
Hembree was placed in a medically induced coma on a ventilator and has been hospitalized for three weeks since the shooting, as her family say she has been left fighting for her life.
She reportedly suffered massive trauma to her internal organs and had her spleen surgically removed, and also sustained a lung infection while in hospital, the Arizona Republic reported.
Their friend Myah Hembree, 22, was also shot in the tragedy and was placed in a medically induced coma on a ventilator, as her family say she has been left fighting for her life
Montgomery’s ex-boyfriend Michael Sanchez, 18, allegedly opened fire on the girls after getting into an argument with his pregnant ex
Anthony Tequida, 19, was charged with hindering prosecution after allegedly serving as Sanchez’s getaway driver
Hembree’s family said in a statement to the outlet that the weeks since the shooting ‘have been an absolute nightmare for us.’
‘Watching a vibrant young woman fight for her life while enduring multiple surgeries and critical injuries is something no family should ever have to experience,’ the family said.
Krebs was also hospitalized with a gunshot wound to her back and almost lost one of her legs, and doctors performed an emergency C-section on her six-month-old unborn baby.
The 17-year-old’s baby tragically died six days later, and Krebs said she named him Timothy Rylee in honor of her best friend who was killed.
‘We were getting ready to plan the baby shower and instead now we have to plan a funeral,’ she told AZ Family.
Krebs said she has been left devastated by the shooting, as ‘we were getting ready to plan the baby shower and instead now we have to plan a funeral’
Montgomery’s loved ones said they were concerned by her relationship with her baby’s father
She said she and Montgomery had long been best friends and were both excited to be pregnant at the same time, and recalled they often said their children ‘can also be best friends, they can grow up together.’
‘That was our thought when we both found out we were pregnant together,’ she said.
Sanchez is facing murder charges, and his alleged getaway driver Antonio Tequida, 19, is facing hindering prosecution charges.
Both pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on Wednesday.
