A 16-year-old African-American boy was shot in the head by an 84 year-old white man, identified as Andrew Lester, after ringing his doorbell in Kansas City, Missouri, around 10 p.m. on Thursday, April 13. His family have called the act a hate crime.
According to the victim Ralph Yarl’s aunt, Faith Spoonmore, Yarl mistakenly rang the doorbell in the wrong house while going to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house. When he rang the doorbell, a man inside the house opened the door, looked at the teenager, and opened fire, shooting him in the head and arm.
Yarl, still conscious, somehow managed to run for help but, according to his aunt, he had to go to three different homes before someone came to his aid.
Responding officers took the alleged gunman, who was not publicly identified, into custody, but he was later released pending further investigation.
The Kansas City Police Department chief Stacey Graves justified this decision at a press conference on Sunday, saying that more information was needed from investigators and that the prosecutor required more evidence. Graves said the department was committed to delivering justice in the case and to all victims.
After an investigation, the shooter was charged with two felony charges for assault and first degree and armed criminal action and turned himself in to police on Tuesday, April 18.
Protesters gathered outside the man’s house on Sunday to demonstrate the shooting. Famous civil rights lawyers Lee Merritt and Ben Crump have offered their services to Yarl’s family pro bono.
Yarl is a talented bass clarinet player who wants to study Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M. Last summer, he attended the Missouri Scholars Academy, which is a program for high-achieving students. According to Spoonmore, Yarl loves musical instruments and plays in Northland Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Yarl is still hospitalized, and while he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally, his family considers his survival a miracle.
The family of Yarl believes that the shooting was a hate crime, and his aunt posted on Instagram saying that the shooting was not an error but a hate crime. She said it was ridiculous for someone to shoot a child in the head because they rang your doorbell. The shooting has caused outrage and sparked protests in Kansas City, with many are calling for justice for Yarl.
