A black 16-year-old boy named Ralph Yarl was shot in the head by a homeowner in Missouri over the weekend. The family claims Ralph was shot after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his twin brothers.?
The incident occurred on Thursday when Ralph rang the doorbell at a house one block from where he was supposed to go.?
After being shot, Ralph ran to three different homes before finally receiving help from a neighbor, who instructed him to lie on the ground with his hands up. Protests erupted in response to the shooting.
KCPD Chief Stacey Graves announced at a press conference on Sunday that the suspect was taken into custody, and their firearm was seized.?
The department needs to collect a formal statement from Ralph and gather more evidence before the case can be handed over to prosecutors.
"The vast majority of cases to include violent crime involve the suspect being released, pending further investigation. In this case, the prosecutor requires more information from investigators that would take more than 24 hours to compile," Graves said.??
"We recognize the frustration this can cause in the criminal justice process."
KCPD Chief Stacey Graves withheld information about the alleged shooter's gender and race.?
On Monday, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that Andrew Lester is being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, which could result in a life sentence.
Lester's bond has been set at $200,000, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.?
Following the announcement, Crump and Merritt released a joint statement stating that they had learned of the charges shortly after speaking with President Joe Biden on the phone.
"Moments after the family got off the phone with President Biden, who offered his prayers for Ralph¡¯s health and justice, we learned that the prosecutor will be charging the man responsible for the deplorable shooting of this innocent boy," the statement read.
"Gun violence against unarmed black individuals must stop. Our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we will continue to fight for Ralph while he works towards a full recovery."
Faith Spoonmore, who live-streamed the protest on Instagram, spoke to a neighbor who saw the homeowner sweeping in front of his house the morning after the shooting.
"This was a child that this man attempted to assassinate," she said.?
"He shot him twice. And we allowed him to not only go back home hours after the incident, but he could wake up the next morning and freaking claim like nothing ever happened."
"There is no excuse for releasing this armed and dangerous suspect after admitting to shooting an unarmed, non-threatening, and defenseless teenager that rang his doorbell," they said.?
"We demand swift action from Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest, and prosecute the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting to the full extent of the law."
He is a high school student and an active member of his school's Technology Student Association and marching band, where he is a section leader playing the clarinet.?
Although he is doing well physically, Spoonmore stated that he has a long road ahead of him mentally and emotionally.
The 2022 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that gun-related deaths have increased by 8% on average since the enactment of the "Stand Your Ground" bill in Missouri in 2016.
Everytown, an advocacy group, reports that Missouri has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, with no requirement for background checks on unlicensed gun sales. The state sees an average of 1,351 gun-related deaths annually.
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