An 84-year-old white man who shot a Black teen that approached the wrong house in Kansas City, Missouri, while trying to pick up his siblings has been charged with first-degree assault.
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Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that there was a “racial component” to the incident last Thursday night when Andrew Lester twice shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital. But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated, Thompson clarified.
Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, called the shooting a “heinous and hate-filled crime.” Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter that"No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell.” The Missouri Senate held a moment of silence for Yarl on Monday.
The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester was also charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison. Thompson said Missouri’s hate crime law, a violation of which is not part of the charge, is considered a lesser felony than first-degree assault, and carries a less severe penalty.
Yarl ran to “multiple” homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said. The shooting happened 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.
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