Prosecutor says Ralph Yarl shooting had ‘racial component’ as suspect’s alleged threat revealed
The Black teenager was trying to pick up his younger twin brothers but rang the wrong doorbell by accident, family said
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Authorities in Kansas City, Missouri have confirmed that there was a "racial component" to the shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl.
The 16-year-old's family have said he was simply trying to pick up his younger twin brothers when he rang the wrong doorbell by mistake and was shot by the white homeowner last Thursday night.
On Monday, prosecutors charged 85-year-old Andrew Lester with first degree assault, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison, and armed criminal action, which is punishable by between three and 15 years.
County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said that there had been "a racial component" to the shooting, but did not give any details.
Ralph survived the shooting despite being struck in the arm and the head, and was released from hospital on Sunday after "making good progress".
A lawyer for the Yarl family claimed that Ralph's attacker told him "don’t come back around here" before shooting him without provocation.
Mr Thompson gave a different account on Monday, saying that the probable cause statement does not indicate any words were exchanged and that whether Ralph rang the doorbell "may be in dispute".
"In Clay County, we enforce the laws and we follow the laws, and it does not matter where you come from, or what you look like, or how much money you have," Mr Thompson said. "Everyone is held to the same standard."
Mr Lester was arrested immediately after the shooting last week, but released by Kansas City police after less than two hours.
The lack of charges over the weekend had sparked protests in Kansas City and uproar across the country as Ralph's family and the civil rights lawyers representing them called for the shooter to be prosecuted.
Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the Yarls, said that Ralph had rang the doorbell just before 10pm, believing that he was on the similarly-named street where his twin brothers live.