The family of the late, 16-year-old, Bronx teen, Angellyh Marieh Yambo, filed a civil lawsuit on March 27 against Polymer80, Inc., the ghost gun manufacturer and dealer who equipped Angellyh’s 17-year-old shooter and named defendant, Jeremiah Ryan, with an untraceable firearm.

 

The lawsuit alleges that the loss of Angellyh’s life was made possible due to Polymer80, Inc. through the company’s network of dealers and online sellers which flooded New York City streets with unserialized and untraceable gun kits that can easily be assembled into functional handguns without background checks.

 

The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Bronx County, and the causes of action in the complaint include negligence and violations of New York General Business Law 898-e. The survivors and the Estate of Angellyh Marieh Yambo are represented by founding partner Edward A. Steinberg, and attorney Anthony M. Beneduce from Leav & Steinberg, LLP.

 

Attorneys for the family issued the following statement in the context of the announcement, “The family of Angellyh [Marieh] Yambo deserves justice. No child should lose their life to senseless gun violence. The ghost gun industry continues to place profit over public safety and the lives of our children. This lawsuit will hold them accountable for putting these dangerous and untraceable weapons on the streets.”

As reported, coinciding loosely with Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15 and the late Angellyh Yambo’s birthday, which falls on Jan. 24, the Angellyh Yambo Foundation (AYF), which launched last year on the first anniversary of the teen’s death, held its 1st Youth Gun Violence Prevention Summit on Friday, Jan. 19, in the South Bronx.

 

As reported at the time, Angellyh, who spent much of her childhood in Kingsbridge Heights and who was honored during a street co-naming ceremony in the neighborhood last year, was just 16 when she was fatally shot while walking home from University Prep Charter High School in Mott Haven, along with two of her friends on April 8, 2022. Her family, friends, and teacher say she was a talented artist and had her sights set on becoming a doctor. Her school friends held an anti-gun violence march in her memory during Gun Violence Awareness Month in June 2022.

 

As reported, Ryan was later sentenced to 15 years for the fatal shooting of Angellyh.  As also reported, in July 2023, Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) commemorated National Gun Violence Awareness Month by joining Angellyh’s family, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, and students from University Prep Charter High School to announce new federal legislation banning ghost guns, and expanding the perimeter of gun-free school zones.

In relation to Polymer 80, which had been sued in the State of California for allegedly not performing background checks on the purchasers of gun components it made, Norwood News asked Torres at the announcement of the bill if it would also require the performance of background checks on the purchasers of such component parts. “As I understand it, the bullet that took the life of Angellyh was manufactured by Polymer 80, which is the worst offender not only for The Bronx, but throughout the country, and so that’s precisely the manufacturer that this legislation is designed for,” he said at the time.

 

As reported in May 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, then-NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund had called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to revoke Polymer80’s federal firearms license. A statement from the Mayor’s Office at the time read, “Ghost guns have been a growing contributor to gun violence in New York City and Polymer80 is, by far, the largest source of ghost guns used in crimes and recovered by law enforcement nationally.”

 

On May 11 that year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statement in support of Adams’ call, saying in part, “Gun violence is a public health and public safety crisis, and all levels of government must continue working together on aggressive action to crack down on the distribution and possession of dangerous weapons.”

She continued, “To combat the rise of ghost guns, I took action in October to criminalize the sale of ghost guns and require gunsmiths to register firearms they assemble. I also established a nation-leading Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns, bringing together ten states, federal agencies, and local law enforcement agencies. The Task Force is having an immediate impact, taking hundreds of guns off the streets, and the State Police has specifically seized more than 50 ghost guns this year to date, working with local and interstate jurisdictions. I am grateful to all of the law enforcement partners who are working together on these vital efforts.”

 

Norwood News contacted both Polymer80 and Torres for comment on the latest suit. We will update this story upon receipt of feedback from either party.

The congressman later told Norwood News, “No family should ever have to suffer the devastating consequences of gun violence. The lawsuit the Yambo family has filed against Polymer80 Inc. is a crucial step towards holding manufacturers accountable and seeking justice for Angellyh and all victims of ghost gun violence. We must continue to advocate for stronger gun safety measures to prevent further senseless tragedies.”

 

As of Nov. 13, the case was still pending in the courts and the Angellyh Yambo Foundation clarified the same day that its lawsuit is not part of a separate lawsuit filed by Everytown Law.