A Kansas City teenager was shot by a homeowner after going to the wrong house to pick up siblings, sparking citywide protests and demands for justice, local authorities said Sunday.
According to the police affidavit, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was asked by his parents 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 after ringing the doorbell.
The teen was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition Sunday, CNN reported.
Protesters marched as they chanted, “justice for Ralph” and “Black lives matter,” and carried signs reading, “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime” and “The shooter should do the time,” CNN reported.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Grave sought to assure the Kansas City community Sunday that the police department is committed to bringing justice to this case.
“We recognize the frustration this can cause in the entire criminal justice process. The women and men of the Kansas City Police Department are working as expeditiously and as thoroughly as we can, to ensure the criminal justice process continues to advance as quickly as all involved and our community deserve,” Graves said.
Yarl was “shot twice and struck in the head and arm,” the family’s attorneys said in a statement.
Civil rights attorneys S. Lee Merritt and Benjamin Crump have been retained by Yarl and his family.
“Despite the severity of his injuries and the seriousness of his condition, Ralph is alive and recovering,” the attorneys said in the statement.
The homeowner – who has not been identified – was taken into custody and placed on a 24-hour hold, then released pending further investigation due to the need to obtain a formal statement from the victim and to gather additional forensic evidence, Chief Graves said.
A GoFundMe started by Faith Spoonmore, who identified herself as Yarl’s aunt, to help the family raise money for medical expenses had garnered more than $529,000 in donations by Sunday night.
Yarl had been looking forward to graduating from high school and visiting West Africa before starting college, where he hopes to major in chemical engineering, his aunt wrote in the fundraiser.
The teen is a section leader in a marching band and could often be found with a musical instrument in hand, Spoonmore wrote. Most recently, Yarl earned Missouri All-State Band honorable mention for playing the Bass Clarinet, according to a North Kansas City Schools’ newsletter in February.
“Life looks a lot different right now. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally. The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable,” the GoFundMe post reads.
