Kansas City homeowner who shot Black teen Ralph Yarl is a white man in his 80s, records show
The man is not yet facing criminal charges in connection with the shooting of the 16-year-old Black student
A Kansas City homeowner suspected of shooting Black teenager Ralph Yarl is a white man in his 80s, records show.
The man was booked into custody on 13 April hours after Ralph was shot twice when he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, jail officials confirmed to The Independent.
He was released more than two hours later at around 1.24am the next morning, authorities said.
Police confirmed to CNN that the man booked into custody was a white man in his 80s.
The Independent reviewed property records for the home identified by local news outlets as the site of the shooting, which showed an 84-year-old man listed as the owner.
The Independent is not naming the man as he has not yet been charged with an offence.
Kansas City Police have said that Ralph, 16, was shot twice after mistakenly ringing the doorbell on a home in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street at around 10pm last Thursday.
Police chief Stacey Graves told a news conference on Sunday that the homeowner was released after being placed on a 24-hour investigation hold.
Investigators are reviewing forensic information and witness accounts, she said.
The shooting occurred after the teenager got muddled up about the address he was supposed to pick up his brothers and went to a home on 115th Street by mistake, police said.
It left Ralph hospitalised and has led to widespread anger and protests calling for the homeowner to face prosecution.
“He didn’t have his phone. He mistakenly went to the wrong house, one block away from the house where his siblings were. He pulled into the driveway and rang the doorbell,” according to an account posted by one of Ralph’s relatives on a GoFundme page.
“The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head. My nephew fell to the ground, and the man shot him again.”
The GoFundme page set up to raise money to help with his recovery has surpassed $1.2m in donations in less than 24 hours.