KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police Chief Stacey Graves said Sunday the police department is working to make sure the investigation of the shooting of a Black teenager moves as quickly as it can so the case can be presented to the Clay County prosecutor.
“I want everyone to know that I am listening,” Graves said at a news conference at Kansas City police headquarters downtown, “and I understand the concern we are receiving from the community.”
The 16-year-old boy, who family members have identified online as Ralph Yarl, was hospitalized Thursday night after he was shot while trying to pick up his younger twin brothers. Police said he went to the wrong house and was shot at that house. They have not identified the shooter or his race.
Police initially said Ralph was in stable condition but had a life-threatening injury. His current condition has not been released, other than that he is stable.
Graves said Sunday that the homeowner who allegedly shot the teen was taken into custody Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold.
While searching the scene for evidence, detectives found the firearm allegedly used.
Law enforcement released the suspect pending further investigation after consulting with the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office.
Graves said Missouri law allows a person to be held up to 24 hours for a felony investigation. At that point, the person must be released or arrested and formally charged.
In order to arrest someone, Graves said law enforcement needs a formal victim statement, forensic evidence and other information for a case file to be completed. Because of the teen’s injuries, Graves said police haven’t been able to get a victim statement yet.
Information that officials have now does not point to the crime being racially motivated, but Graves said that aspect also remains under investigation.
Investigators will also consider whether or not the suspect was protected within the Stand Your Ground laws, Graves said.
Officials would not confirm the number of times the homeowner shot the victim or where his injuries were.
Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended the news conference, said the police department understands the community’s concern that the shooting could be racially motivated. He said some members of the police department attended Sunday’s protest in the neighborhood where the shooting took place to listen to community members’ concerns.
“There are a number of folks who are working on this case,” he said. “This is not something that has been dismissed, marginalized or diminished in any way. This is something that is getting the full attention of the Kansas City Police Department.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump told The Star on Sunday that his Florida-based law firm has been retained by the teen’s family.
“You can’t just shoot people without having justification when somebody comes knocking on your door and knocking on your door is not justification. This guy should be charged,” Crump said.
Crump has represented the families in several high-profile cases including Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, as well as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
He said the homeowner initially shot the teen in the head and then a second time after the boy fell to the ground.
The family has also retained Lee Merritt, a Texas-based civil rights attorney who has previously represented the family of Cameron Lamb, who was fatally shot by KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere in 2019.
Crump said the homeowner’s actions were inexcusable and unjustified.
“After he had shot him, you could’ve closed your door and called the police. Why did you go out and shoot him a second time?” he said. “It’s outrageous, is what it is. It’s outrageous. You just shoot somebody because they knocked on your door.”
Crump said based on what he was told by the teen’s family, the shooter is white.
“It is inescapable not to acknowledge the racial dynamics at play,” he said.
Ralph was meant to pick up his brothers from a friend’s house on 115th Terrace. He ended up ringing the doorbell at a home on 115th Street, Faith Spoonmore, the teen’s aunt, wrote online.
Spoonmore said a man opened the door, saw Ralph and shot him in the head. When Ralph fell to the ground, she said the man shot him again.
Ralph got up and ran from the property, but he had to ask at three different homes before someone helped him. Kansas City police officers said they responded to the area around 10 p.m.
“Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally,” Spoonmore wrote in a GoFundMe she started to raise money for Ralph’s medical bills and other expenses.
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