The teenager who was shot twice in Missouri after ringing the incorrect doorbell is being treated by doctors who claim to not know how he is still alive.
On Thursday night, Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot in the head and the arm after picking up his younger brothers.
84-year-old Andrew Lester is accused of first-degree assault and armed criminal activity.
The prosecution claimed that there was a “racial component” to the shooting.
The alleged racial bias is not detailed in the prosecution documents, and Mr. Lester has not been accused of committing a hate crime.
A witness who heard a car pull into Mr. Lester’s driveway, according to a probable cause statement issued by the authorities, told police that they found it weird that their senior neighbor would have a guest around 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT). Two to three gunshots were heard. The witness reported hearing Mr. Yarl “screaming that he had been shot” and seeing him pounding on neighboring doors for assistance.
Police receive significantly different descriptions of the incident from Mr. Yarl and Mr. Lester.
In his statement to the police, the child claimed that since this was his first visit to the house, he rang the doorbell and waited. It took the man inside a while to open the door, but when he did, he did so while brandishing a gun. After receiving a headshot, Mr. Yarl was shot in the right arm once again as he was on the ground. He believes a warning to “don’t come around here” was given to him.
Mr. Lester stated he lives alone and had just gone to bed when the doorbell rang in his statement to the police. He observed Mr. Yarl “pulling on the exterior storm door handle” as soon as he opened the inner door. He “shot him twice in a matter of seconds” because he, “thought someone was trying to break into the house.” Due to his advanced age, Mr. Lester alleges he was “scared to death” and that he and Mr. Yarl did not speak.
Mr. Yarl’s mother Cleo Nagbe revealed to CBS’s Gayle King on Tuesday that her son was at home and surrounded by a group of medical experts.
She claimed that after being shot at close range, physicians were baffled as to how he had survived.
Recounting the circumstances of last Thursday, Ms. Nagbe said her son had accidentally knocked on Mr. Lester’s door while attempting to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house that evening.
The kid, according to family members, rang the bell twice after going to 115th Street rather than 115th Terrace. After being shot, he traveled to three nearby homes before getting assistance, according to family members.
Police first kept Mr. Lester for interrogation before releasing him, setting up Sunday protests across Kansas City.
Several well-known people, including Patrick Mahomes, the star quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Justin Timberlake, Halle Berry, and Kerry Washington, denounced the shooting.
As of Tuesday, a GoFundMe account created to cover his medical recovery costs has amassed more than $2.7 million (£2.1 million).
