KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 85-year-old white man who shot a Black teen at his front door in Kansas City, Missouri, last week has been charged with armed assault, the Clay County prosecutor said Monday.
Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that Andrew Lester shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital on Sunday.
When asked if anything was said that made Thompson believe that the case was racially motivated, Thompson said nothing like that is indicated in charging documents.
“We understand how frustrating this has been but I can assure the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work,” Thompson said at a news conference.
Yarl was supposed to pick up his two younger brothers last week when he approached the wrong house. Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the head — then shot him again.
Community leaders and an attorney for Yarl’s family are demanding justice for the Black teen, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital on Sunday, and they are questioning whether race played a role in the shooting.
The shooter was taken into custody Thursday but released the next day after consultation with the prosecutor’s office, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference on Sunday. The firearm used was found at the home, she said.
Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, said in a statement Monday that the homeowner should immediately be arrested for what he called a “heinous and hate-filled crime.”
The Missouri Senate held a moment of silence for Yarl on Monday. “We pray for justice,” Democratic Sen. Lauren Arthur said.
The shooting happened Thursday night in a middle class neighborhood in north Kansas City. Yarl was sent to pick up his twin younger brothers. He didn’t have a phone with him and went to the wrong block, his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay medical bills. By Monday afternoon, $1.4 million had been raised.
Graves said that Yarl’s parents asked him to pick up his brothers at a home on 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to 115th Street, the Kansas City Star reported.
Spoonmore wrote that Yarl pulled into the driveway and rang the doorbell.
“The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head,” Spoonmore wrote. When Yarl fell to the ground, “the man shot him again.”
Spoonmore wrote that Yarl approached three different homes “before someone finally agreed to help him after he was told to lie on the ground with his hands up.” The AP could not independently confirm this account.