Ralph Yarl (Photo: GoFundMe)
A white homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, shot and wounded a Black teenager who had gone to the wrong home to pick up his siblings on April 13. Ralph Yarl, 16, was “shot twice and struck in the head and arm,” his family’s attorneys said in a statement. He remains hospitalized.
“Despite the severity of his injuries and the seriousness of his condition, Ralph is alive and recovering,” civil rights attorneys S. Lee Merritt and Benjamin Crump, who have been retained by Yarl and his family, said in the statement.
Local streets flooded with protesters after the news spread of the shooting. They chanted “justice for Ralph” and “Black lives matter.”
Yarl’s parents had asked him to pick up his siblings at an address on 115th Terrace, but he accidentally went to a home on 115th Street, where he was shot.
“Ralph Yarl was picking up his younger brothers when he mistakenly rang the doorbell at the wrong house. A man shot Ralph twice and now he’s in critical condition. His family needs support during this tragedy,” Crump tweeted.
The homeowner has not been identified. The homeowner was taken into custody and placed on a 24-hour hold, then released. A firearm was taken as evidence.
Under Missouri law, a person can be held for up to 24 hours for investigation of a felony, at which time they are required to be charged or released, CNN reported.
“There can be no excuse for the release of this armed and dangerous suspect,” the lawyers said, NBC News reported.
A GoFundMe was launched by Faith Spoonmore, who identified herself as Ralph’s aunt, to help the family raise money for medical expenses. The fund has taken in nearly $1.5 million in donations by April 17.
“The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head. My nephew fell to the ground, and the man shot him again. Ralph was then able to get up and run to the neighbor’s house, looking for help,” she wrote on the page.
She said Yarl had to run to three different homes before someone helped him “after he was told to lie on the ground with his hands up.”
Yarl, a band section leader, was a high school junior looking forward to graduating and traveling to West Africa before starting college, his aunt wrote On GoFundMe. She added that he is a member of his school’s Technology Student Association and Science Olympiad Team and is a 2022 Missouri Scholars Academy alumni.
Ralph Yarl (Photo: GoFundMe, https://www.gofundme.com/f/nf36y-cover-medical-expenses)
