Protesters have taken to the streets following a said incident in which a homeowner shot a 16-year-old boy, Ralph Yarl in the head, in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States.
The police said on Sunday that the incident happened when Karl showed up at the wrong residence to pick shot his siblings but was met with a brutal owner, CNN said.
Kansas City Police were called and responded to reports of a shooting on the evening of April 13 and arrived to find a teenager who had been shot by a homeowner outside of a residence.
The report said Karl, a high school junior had been rushed to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition Sunday, according to the police report.
Police learned that the teenager’s parents had asked him to pick up his siblings at an address on 115th Terrace, but he accidentally went to a home on 115th Street, where he was shot, according to police.
A joint statement has been issued from civil rights attorneys S. Lee Merritt and Benjamin Crump, who have been retained by the victim and his family.
“Despite the severity of his injuries and the seriousness of his condition, Ralph is alive and recovering,” the attorneys said in the statement.
CNN said the homeowner – who has not been identified – was taken into custody and placed on a 24-hour hold, then released pending further investigation due to the necessity to get an official statement from the victim and to gather additional forensic evidence, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said in a news conference Sunday.
Under Missouri state law, a person can be held for up to 24 hours for investigation of a felony, at which time they are required to be charged or released, Graves said at the press conference.
The shooting fueled a protest in Kansas City on Sunday, with hundreds gathering outside the home where Yarl was shot, according to CNN affiliate KSHB.
Protesters marched as they chanted, “Justice for Ralph” and “Black lives matter,” and carried signs reading, “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime” and “The shooter should do the time,” footage from CNN.
“We demand swift action from Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting,” the statement from the victim’s attorneys read.
Asked whether the shooting may have been racially motivated, the police chief said, “The information that we have now, it does not say that that is racially motivated. That’s still an active investigation. But as a chief of police, I do recognise the racial components of this case.”
