Ralph Yarl: Doctors cannot believe boy survived shooting, mother says

Doctors treating a teenage boy who was shot twice after ringing the wrong doorbell in Missouri say they have no idea how he survived.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot in the head and in the arm after he went to pick up his younger brothers on Thursday night.

His mother told CBS that instead of receiving a hug from his siblings he received a “couple of bullets” instead.

Andrew Lester, 84, has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

A prosecutor said there was a “racial component” to the shooting.

Mr Lester has not been charged with a hate crime, and charging documents do not describe the alleged racial bias.

According to a probable cause statement released by authorities, a witness who heard a car enter Mr Lester’s driveway told police they thought it was odd their elderly neighbour would have a visitor around 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT).

They heard two to three gunshots. The witness said that he heard Mr Yarl “screaming that he had been shot” and saw him knocking on neighbouring doors for help.

Mr Yarl and Mr Lester give police slightly different accounts of the incident.

The boy’s statement to police says he pressed the doorbell at the home and waited, as this was his first time at the residence.

The man inside took a long time to open the door, but when he did he was holding a firearm. Mr Yarl was shot in the head, fell to the ground and was shot a second time in the right arm. He claims he was told “don’t come around here”.

In his statement to police, Mr Lester said he lives alone and had just gone to bed when the doorbell rang.

He opened the interior door and saw Mr Yarl “pulling on the exterior storm door handle”. He “believed someone was attempting to break into the house” and “shot him twice within a few seconds”. Mr Lester claims he was “scared to death” due to his age and that no words were exchanged between him and Mr Yarl.

On Tuesday, Mr Yarl’s mother Cleo Nagbe told CBS’s Gayle King that her son was home and surrounded by a team of medical professionals.

She said he was shot at close range and doctors did not understand how he had survived.

“He got a couple of bullets inside his body, instead of a couple of twins coming out and giving him a hug,” Ms Nagbe said.

Recounting the events of last Thursday, Ms Nagbe said her son had been trying to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house that night when he mistakenly knocked on Mr Lester’s door.

Family members said the boy had gone to 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace and rang the bell twice.

After being shot, he went to three nearby homes before someone helped him, relatives said.

Police initially detained Mr Lester for questioning and let him go, sparking protests throughout Kansas City on Sunday.

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Andrew Lester, 84, has been charged over the shooting

No words were exchanged before the homeowner opened fire with a .32 revolver, prosecutors said.

Speaking alongside Ms Nagbe, family attorney Lee Merritt was asked about Mr Lester’s claim that he was “fearing for his life”.

Mr Merritt answered: “When we hear he feared for his life and we know he was confronted with a 16-year-old boy ringing his doorbell - it is unjustifiable to use this level of force.”

Asked about the next steps, Mr Merritt said the family will be speaking with prosecutors later on Tuesday to ask why attempted murder has not been included on the charge sheet.

Ms Nagbe said her son shared a laugh with President Joe Biden during a phone call on Monday, saying “he had jokes”.

Celebrities including Viola Davis, Justin Timberlake, Halle Berry and Kerry

Washington - as well as Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomescondemned the shooting.

A GoFundMe account set up to pay for his medical recovery has raised more than $2.7m (£2.1m) as of Tuesday.

Source: BBC