A Missouri story making national headlines today involves a 16-year-old boy who was shot twice in the head last week in Kansas City when he accidently went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings. Ralph Yarl survived last Thursday night’s shooting and Kansas City news reports say he has been released from a hospital today.
Hundreds of protesters marched Sunday in Kansas City to show support for Yarl. The public outcry has come from across the country.
I spoke this afternoon with the mother of Ralph Yarl, a child who never should have been in harms way merely going to a door to pick up his siblings.
I shared with her my personal commitment to ensuring we find justice for her son, her family, and all hurting now in our City.
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) April 17, 2023
But let’s be very clear: Ralph Yarl should be safe and at home with his family right now.
There is no justification for shooting a child multiple times for ringing the doorbell—and we ought to think very carefully about whether or not that’s the world we want to live in.
— Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) April 17, 2023
NEW: Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice by a white man in Kansas City after accidentally ringing the doorbell of the wrong home. The man shot Ralph in the head through his glass door, and then when Yarl was already bleeding out on the ground, shot him again: https://t.co/w3tYQvcpyj pic.twitter.com/UNpQhC8j0V
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 16, 2023
As someone who is still recovering from a gunshot to the head, I am heartbroken and infuriated that Ralph Yarl now faces a lifetime of recovery.
At 16 years old. For simply ringing a doorbell.
We cannot continue to be a nation defined by gun violence and injustice. pic.twitter.com/DQq063yRLz
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) April 17, 2023
Here's #Chiefs Patrick Mahomes on Ralph Yarl. pic.twitter.com/hI4VP7ME4P
— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) April 17, 2023
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said the man who allegedly shot Yarl was taken into custody and later released. She said the investigation continues.
“I want everyone to know that I’m listening and I understand the concern that we are receiving from the community,” Graves said at a news conference on Sunday.
Missouri law allows the use deadly force, without retreating, against a person who illegally enters private property. Deadly force can be used by a person to protect “himself, or herself or her unborn child, or another against death, serious physical injury, or any forcible felony.”
A GoFundMe page has already raised more than $1.7 million to support the teen.
The Missouri Senate held a moment of silence today for Yarl. Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, requested the move.
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