THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) – A Bronx mother confronted the man accused of killing her teenage son, who was shot over the summer and tragically died in the fall.
Selena Cox was at the 42 Precinct Station House to see justice being served.
Her son, Kemari Sanders, 16, was thriving in New York City—a Southern charmer from North Carolina navigating his teenage years in the Bronx, making friends with everyone and showing tremendous love for his mother.
“He was telling me he was sorry because he knew how much I loved him,” Cox said.
That was the night her world changed.
On Aug. 23, 2024, her son was shot by a stranger while riding his moped around Crotona Park. Cox rushed to the hospital and stayed by his bedside for six weeks.
“He told me he thought he had died and told me he loved me,” she remembered.
Sanders fought to survive, but he suffered a life-altering heart attack in September. The next month, his mother had to make an unthinkable decision.
“We had to take him off life support because he went brain dead,” Cox said. “My baby laid there and suffered. He tried to fight.”
For weeks, she put her pain into purpose—posting wanted flyers with the suspect’s photo across the borough. Then, this week, she got the call she had prayed for.
The NYPD had him.
“Why did you kill my son? Why did you kill my son?” Cox was heard shouting as the suspect was arrested.
“You don’t deserve to live,” she screamed. He had no reaction.
Detectives tracked down Kenhy Sarria-Buelvas using DNA evidence. Police sources said the 37-year-old Colombian entered the country illegally in 2023. They matched a cheek swab taken at the Texas border to forensics found on his sweatshirt—allegedly ditched the night of the shooting.
Sources say the shooter did not know the victim.
“Come here and commit crimes?” Cox said. “My son was 16 years old, had a bright future, and you robbed me and my family.”
This weekend, Kemari’s twin sister will mark her first birthday without her brother.
PIX11 News has reached out to immigration officials to ask whether they will seek a deportation order but has not yet received a response.
English (US) ·