The owner of a home where a Black teenager was shot and wounded last week in Kansas City’s Northland is a white man in his 80s, according to property records and an attorney for the teen’s family.
Police have not identified the shooter. But at a news conference Sunday, Police Chief Stacey Graves said the homeowner allegedly shot Ralph Yarl, 16, after the teen arrived at the wrong house to pick up his brothers in the 1100 block of 115th Street.
Graves said the homeowner was taken into custody Thursday, placed on a 24-hour hold and released pending further investigation.
Property records reviewed by The Star show a man, 84, owns the home where Ralph was shot. A database on custody status also showed the man was booked last week by KCPD on charges relating to an assault.
The Star is not naming the homeowner because he has not been charged.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is among the attorneys representing Ralph’s family, said based on what Ralph’s relatives told him, the shooter is white.
Asked if KCPD could confirm the suspect’s identity, Capt. Corey Carlisle, a police spokesman, said the details of an ongoing investigation are closed by the Missouri Sunshine Law. Carlisle said the department was moving “as quickly as possible” to submit a complete case file to the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office for their determination of charges.
Ralph rang the doorbell at the wrong address before the shooting — at a home on 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace, according to police. The man who opened the door shot Ralph in the head and shot Ralph again when he was on the ground, Ralph’s family said. Ralph was able to get up and seek help from neighbors, but had to go to three homes before getting help.
Lawyers hired by Ralph’s family criticized law enforcement’s decision to release the homeowner.
“There can be no excuse for the release of this armed and dangerous suspect after admitting to shooting an unarmed, non-threatening and defenseless teenager that rang his doorbell,” said Lee Merritt, a Texas-based civil rights attorney.
Graves on Sunday said detectives needed a statement from the victim to seek charges against the shooter. She also said investigators would consider whether the shooter was protected by Missouri’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law.