A white man in Kansas City charged over shooting and wounding a Black teenager who rang his doorbell has turned himself in to police.
Ralph Yarl, 16, mistakenly walked up to Andrew Lester’s suburban home to pick up his younger siblings around 10pm last Thursday and was shot in the forehead and arm.
Lester, 84, was on Monday charged with first-degree assault, which could bring a sentence of life in prison, Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said.
He surrendered to police in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday.
He was also charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has surrendered at our Detention Center. He is in custody,” the Clay County Sheriff said on Twitter.
Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has surrendered at our Detention Center. He is in custody.
— Clay County, Missouri Sheriff (@SheriffClayCo) April 18, 2023
“I can tell you there was a racial component to the case,” prosecutor Zachary Thompson earlier told a news conference.
However, Lester has not been charged with a hate crime and charging documents do not describe the alleged racial bias, he added.
Lester fired two shots through a glass door from a .32-caliber revolver, prosecutors allege.
Ralph, who was shot in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, Mr Thompson said, adding it did not appear any words were exchanged in the encounter.
The teenager told police in an interview at the hospital where he was treated that the man told him, “Don’t come around here,” local media reported.
The teen was recovering at home on Monday, his family said.
Personal injury lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Yarl family, said: “You can’t just shoot people without having justification when somebody comes knocking on your door - and knocking on your door is not justification.”
Ralph, an honor student and all-state band member, had been due to pick up his two younger brothers when he approached the wrong house by mistake.
He ran to “multiple” homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police.
Ralph’s supporters plan to hold a rally Tuesday evening in Kansas City.
Missouri is among roughly 30 states with ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws, which allow for the use of deadly force in self-defence, but prosecutors said it did not apply here.
“No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell,” Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted in response to the shooting.
President Joe Biden also spoke by phone with Ralph, the White House said on Monday.
