Kansas City police said they are working to quickly prepare evidence for the Clay County prosecutor in the shooting of a Black teenager while trying to pick up his younger brothers from a friend’s house.
Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot in the head after he rang the wrong doorbell while trying to pick up his siblings at a home in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday night.
The teenager was scheduled to pick the siblings up at around 10:30 p.m. on N.E. 115th Terrace but mistakenly went to N.E. 115th Street and was met at the door with gunshots, according to Kansas City police.
Yarl suffered life-threatening injuries from the gunshots and was rushed to a hospital where he was recovering while the homeowner, who fired the weapon, was taken into custody and released after 24 hours.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump told the Kansas City Star that the homeowner should be charged.
“You can’t just shoot people without having justification when somebody comes knocking on your door and knocking on your door is not justification,” Crump said.
On Sunday, during a Uniting to protest for justice, where residents marched to the residence where Yarl was shot, Yarl’s family says they are thankful he is alive but are asking for charges to be brought down against the homeowner who shot the 16-year-old.
Yarl’s Aunt Dr. Faith Spoonmore said “He is alive and he is healing.”