A black teenager was shot in the head twice after he mistakenly went to the wrong house in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his younger twin brothers.
Ralph Yarl, 16, was fired upon by a white homeowner on 115th Street on Thursday night in what is being labeled a hate crime by his family.
His family say he pulled into the driveway of the home at 10pm, believing it to be the correct on 115th Terrace – which is where he was meant to be picking up his brothers.
The teen – who is a school scholar and aspired to study chemical engineering at Texas A&M University – rang the doorbell, but was immediately shot at.
‘The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head,’ his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, wrote.
‘My nephew fell to the ground, and the man shot him again.’ The teen fell to the ground but was still conscious and managed to make his escape and run to a next door neighbor for help.
But assistance wasn’t forthcoming and he had to knock on the doors of three different homes before someone finally came to his aid – and even then was told to lie on the ground with his hands up.
Ralph was immediately rushed to the hospital where he is now recovering from his injuries. The teen is known among his peers for his intellect and for being a ‘musical genius.’
Ralph is part of his high school’s Technology Student Association and Science Olympia Team, plays in the marching, jazz, and competition band, and is one of the top base clarinet players in Missouri.
The alleged gunman, who has not been identified, was taken into custody soon after the incident and to give a statement but was later ‘released pending further investigation.’
Police obtained the firearm that was used in the incident but have explained their delay on bringing charges against the homeowner because they are waiting for the teen to make his own statement as to what happened.
The release of the gunman did not sit well with civil rights attorney Lee Merritt who stated in tweet on Sunday morning, ‘Ralph is fighting for his life. ‘This man must be arrested. We are on our way.’
On Sunday afternoon, the Chief of the Kansas City Police Department, Stacey Graves, also justified the decision to release the alleged gunman.
‘The vast majority of cases to include violent crime involve the suspect being released pending further investigation,’ Chief Graves said.
‘In this case, the prosecutor requires more information from investigators that would take more than 24 hours to compile throughout the weekend.
‘We want the community to know that we are committed to justice in this case and every case and work everyday to seek that justice for all victims of all crimes,’ Graves said while noting that she was ‘listening’ and understood the community’s ‘concern.’
His family has set up a GoFundMe page to handle medical expenses and have stated that he has ‘a long road ahead of him mentally and emotionally.’
