Featured Image Credit: Facebook/GoFundMe
Topics: Black Lives Matter, Crime, Gun Crime, News, US News, Ralph Yarl
Joe Harker
Topics: Black Lives Matter, Crime, Gun Crime, News, US News, Ralph Yarl
A teenager who was shot in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell has been released from hospital just a few days after suffering serious injuries.
Ralph Yarl, 16, was picking up his brothers from a friend's house in Kansas City, Missouri, on 13 April when he mistakenly went to the wrong house and rang the doorbell.
The 84-year-old homeowner, one Andrew D. Lester, shot the teenager once in the head and a second time in the arm after the boy had fallen to the ground.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by Ralph's family, he had to knock on three other doors to try and get help after being shot in the head before someone agreed to assist him.
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Police responded to the gunshots and Ralph was taken to hospital where he was said to be suffering from a 'life threatening injury' before entering a 'stable' condition.
The boy's father Paul told the Kansas City Star his son was 'making good progress' since returning home while Ralph's mother, a nurse, has taken time off work to care for him.
84-year-old white man Lester has been charged by the police with one count of first degree assault and one count of armed criminal action.
The first charge could result in the man spending the rest of his life in prison, and prosecutor Zachary Thompson released a statement commenting on the matter.
He said: "My heart goes out to the child and family involved in this case.
"The probable cause statement indicates the rounds were fired through a glass door. As the prosecutor of Clay County, I can tell you there was a racial component to the case."
Thompson further discussed the case in a press conference yesterday (17 April) where he said: "My message to the community is that, in Clay County, we enforce the laws and we follow the laws.
"That doesn't matter where you come from, what you look like or how much money you have."
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing Ralph's family and has worked on similar cases in the past, including those of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery and Michael Brown.
He said it was 'inescapable not to acknowledge the racial dynamics at play', while protestors have marked in support of the 16-year-old as they have chanted 'Justice for Ralph' and 'Black Lives Matter'.
The GoFundMe set up by Ralph's family recently reached over $2.5 million in donations which will go towards the boy's medical bills and therapy, any excess money raised will be put towards Ralph's college fund and paying for him to take a trip to West Africa.
According to the page, the 16-year-old is wanting to attend Texas A&M to study chemical engineering and has a love of music, being adept with several instruments.