Source: D-Keine / Getty
Protests have ensued in Kansas City after a Black teen was shot twice by a white homeowner, who was detained and released with no charges.
Nearly one thousand people gathered to march in protest in the Northland neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri Sunday (April 16) in a show of support for Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old who is in the hospital after being shot by a homeowner last Thursday (April 13). The homeowner, who is white, was taken in for questioning by police but released pending further investigation.
According to a statement by lawyers S. Lee Merritt and Ben Crump who were retained by the family, the teen had mistakenly gone to the wrong home to pick up his siblings at the request of his parents. He went to an address on Northeast 115th Street instead of a home on Northeast 115th Terrace. It was at that address that he was “shot twice and struck in the head and arm.” Police discovered him outside of the residence. “Despite the severity of his injuries and the seriousness of his condition, Ralph is alive and recovering,” said the attorneys.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves held a press conference Sunday afternoon as word of Yarl’s shooting spread online. When asked if the shooting was racially motivated, Chief Graves said that “the information that we have now, it does not say that that is racially motivated. That’s still an active investigation. But as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case.”
Graves related that the homeowner, who is to date unidentified, was placed on a 24-hour hold before being released if they aren’t charged according to Missouri state law. “[They are] cooperating and we have taken [the potential for flight risk] into consideration,” she said. “That is something that we look at. But even in this situation, there is more that we need to glean from that incident to put that together for prosecutorial review.” The KCPD hopes to get a statement from the teen soon as part of the investigation.
The teen’s father, Paul Yarl, spoke about the family’s demand for justice. “Our message for the prosecutor: we want charges, that’s what we want. If he goes free, the next Black kid that rings that doorbell could get shot again. We don’t want that,” he said. A GoFundMe for medical expenses started by Faith Spoonmore, who identified herself as Ralph’s aunt, has netted $529,000 to date.
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