Pregnant girl, 17, shot in the back by her best friend's baby daddy reveals tragic loss after injury forced her into early labor

Published: 18:16, 25 May 2026 | Updated: 18:16, 25 May 2026 A 17-year-old pregnant girl in Arizona, who was allegedly shot in the back by her best friend's baby daddy, has now lost her child after she was forced into early labor. The pregnant teen named Abby was with her 16-year-old friend Rylee Montgomery, who was also pregnant, in Buckeye, just outside of Phoenix, on May 14, when they were both shot. Montgomery's boyfriend, Michael Isiah Sanchez, 18, allegedly gunned down the pregnant girls after his girlfriend refused to get an abortion. Abby and her baby survived the shooting, but unfortunately, her pregnant friend died. An unnamed 22-year-old woman was shot as well and survived. The gunshot wound forced Abby to deliver her baby early at only 25 weeks old. Montgomery's mother, Amy, told AZ Family that the child initially survived the emergency C-Section. He was named Timmothy Rylee in honor of her friend, but later died, according to officials. Police are now recommending that Sanchez be slapped with an additional homicide charge following the newborn’s death. A 17-year-old pregnant girl named Abby in Arizona was forced to have an emergency C-Section of her 25-week-old baby after she was shot in the back on May 14 Abby was allegedly shot by her friend's baby daddy, 18-year-old Michael Isiah Sanchez Abby and 22-year-old woman survived the shooting, but Sanchez allegedly killed his 17-year-old girlfriend, Rylee Montgomery (pictured)  He is currently being held without bond at Maricopa County jail on two counts of first-degree murder, endangerment, and interference with a monitoring device. Montgomery's family claimed Sanchez had threatened to kill their daughter prior to the shooting, including just hours beforehand, but police were slow to provide help, they told AZ Central. 'They could have stopped it,' her stepmother, Amy Montgomery, told the outlet. '[Sanchez] was just psychotic. First thing he told her was "You're gonna [expletive] kill it," and she says: "No, I am not,"' she recalled. Montgomery was pronounced dead at the scene, Buckeye Police said. The 22-year-old was also allegedly shot three times, the family claimed. Abby and the injured woman have a 'long road to recovery ahead of them,' police spokesperson Carissa Planalp said at a press conference. The Montgomery family claimed they reported Sanchez to the Avondale Police Department on multiple occasions and were told to obtain an order of protection against him. The family has accused the police of failing them, as they allegedly only suggested Montgomery take out a restraining order against her boyfriend. Montgomery's mother, Amy, told AZ Family that the child survived the emergency C-Section However, in a recent report officials said that the baby, who was named Timmothy Rylee in honor of her friend, had died Police are now recommending that Sanches be slapped with an additional homicide charge following the newborn’s death Just four hours before the shooting, Montgomery called Avondale Police and reported that Sanchez had threatened to kill her and sent her a photo with a gun held to his temple, AZ Central reported. Amy said they were told: '"We'll look it up and add it to the report."' Montgomery previously filed against Sanchez, accusing him of pulling a gun on her on March 12, according to records viewed by AZ Central. Montgomery also spoke with Avondale Police on April 22, where she allegedly presented detectives with a 13-page document showing text messages her boyfriend had sent. Amy believes the police did not do enough to save Montgomery and were not responsive enough. 'Our girl would still be right here with us,' she said. Amy said the family initially liked Sanchez and that he seemed like a 'nice guy' who would be a 'good match' for their daughter. The Montgomery family claimed they consistently reported Sanchez to the Avondale Police Department on multiple occasions and were told to obtain an order of protection against him (Rylee Montgomery is pictured)  Montgomery's mother believes the police did not do enough to save her daughter 'She seemed really happy with him,' Amy told the outlet. But he allegedly changed his behavior after learning he was going to be a dad. The family started a GoFundMe to fund funeral expenses. Montgomery's family had planned a gender reveal party for her, and they only discovered she was expecting a girl after her death. The baby would have been named Erica Kathleen, after her father Eric and her grandmother. 'Michael stole our girl and granddaughter from us. He broke our hearts completely. He ripped our souls to shreds,' the family wrote. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Avondale Police Department for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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