JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — President Joe Biden has invited Ralph Yarl to visit the White House once the Kansas City teen recovers after being shot last week after he rang the wrong doorbell.
“No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell. We’ve got to keep up the fight against gun violence,” Biden said in a tweet Tuesday. “And Ralph, we’ll see you in the Oval once you feel better.”
Biden spoke with Yarl and his family Monday evening as national outrage continues over the shooting.
Yarl, a Black 16-year-old Kansas City student, was allegedly shot by Andrew D. Lester, a white man, in the Northland after ringing the doorbell at the wrong house while picking up his brothers.
Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson charged Lester on Monday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Lester surrendered to authorities Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that Biden’s phone call with Yarl and his family was “not unusual or uncommon for this president.”
“This is a president, as we know, (who) understands loss, understands the importance of making sure that he’s a president that is there when a family is suffering and dealing with a hard time,” Jean-Pierre said. “And that’s what you saw. This is a president having to deal with another shooting, talking to another family, about what they’re going through with their kid being shot, for ringing the wrong doorbell.”
The press secretary stressed that she didn’t want to say more about the incident while the case remains pending, but she and other White House officials have called for stronger gun regulation in the wake of the shooting.
“We can fix this, Congress can fix this,” Jean-Pierre said. “They can take action today and deal with some real issues that we’re seeing to really deal with gun reform. And we’re not seeing that.”
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, said he was pleased Biden called Yarl, calling it a “stroke of genius.”
“That’s kind of who Biden is, not to talk to parents, we want to talk to the kid,” Cleaver said.
While the shooting has sparked national condemnation and brought new scrutiny to Missouri’s gun laws, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has remained silent on the incident.
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