Kansas City homeowner shoots Black teen who went to wrong house to pick up siblings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Three days ago a 16-year-old was shot after approaching the door of the wrong Kansas City home while going to pick up his brothers.

In that time, his name and his story have spread not only across the Kansas City metro, but across the country, as activists and celebrities join the chorus of community members calling for justice for Ralph Yarl.

Ralph’s aunt Faith Spoonmore has said that her nephew was headed to pick up his younger brothers, who are twins, from a friend’s house on 115th Terrace. He ended up ringing the doorbell at a home on 115th Street instead.

There, a man opened the door, saw Ralph and shot him in the head, Spoonmore said. When Ralph fell to the ground, she said the man shot him again. Ralph got up and ran from the property, but he had to ask at three different homes before someone helped him.

The homeowner who allegedly shot Ralph was taken into custody Thursday, placed on a 24-hour hold and then released, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Sunday.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing as authorities await other information, including a formal victim statement and forensic evidence, Graves said.

“It is appalling and flat-out unacceptable that the shooter remains free. It is extremely difficult to understand why a statement from the victim is required to detain the assailant,” said Gwen Grant, president/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City.

“It is situations like this that feed the ongoing distrust in law enforcement when Black people are the victims of excessive or deadly force at the hands of white citizens and law enforcement,” she said. “Clearly, race is a factor here that cannot be ignored.” “The notion that a victim’s statement is required is unfathomable to me. Homicide victims don’t give statements, yet the perpetrators get arrested.”

Darron Edwards, lead pastor of the United Believers Community Church in south Kansas City, said it is concerning the potential that a person could be shot for ringing someone’s doorbell.

“If this case involving Ralph Yarl is considered a justified shooting, let’s begin the process to end political canvassing,” Edwards told The Star.

And if anyone feels that statement is an overreach, add to it trick or treating as well. We don’t have a race problem solely in Kansas City; we have a race problem in America. As a faith leader and a parent, my heart breaks over this situation,” he said.

Edwards said faith leaders would host a news conference at noon on Tuesday at the Clay County Circuit Clerk on 11 S. Water St. in Liberty.

Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III, senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, told The Star the shooter needs to be charged.

“It is an example of how much of a trigger happy society we are,” he said. “Apparently, it is acceptable to shoot someone for ringing the doorbell if the person is black. Surely, the ‘Stand You Ground’ law does not apply here.”

Amaia Cook, an organizer for Decarcerate KC, said the incident and lack of action against the shooter show that racism within the police department affects the greater community. An investigation into the incident isn’t enough, Cook said, and the city must also address racial inequality that fuels violence against Black people.

“It is an outrage that while a white shooter gets away after being investigated by the KCPD, a Black child is now in the hospital fighting for his life,” the organization said. “We must confront the reality that the KCPD protects their interests and privileges those within their community, even when they are not wearing a badge.”

Michele Watley, founder of Shirley’s Kitchen Cabinet, a non-profit organization to empower Black women, criticized Kansas City’s mayor, police commission and other elected leaders for not speaking up about Ralph sooner.

“Three days after the incident took place and after hundreds took to the streets to protest, the Kansas City Police Department and the mayor finally provided minimal information about the situation,” she wrote. “There are more questions than answers regarding the release of an individual that shot a teenage child knocking on their door, the identity of the shooter and why they are roaming free in our neighborhoods.”

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted Sunday evening that Ralph’s shooting left him angered and heart-broken.

“This never should have happened,” he tweeted, later adding: “I expect authorities to soon complete a thorough investigation and present a full case file to prosecutors.”

Vernon Howard, in a statement on behalf of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, wrote that the Kansas City “remains one of the most unsafe locations for Black people in the country.”

He later added: “Parenthetically, the facts surrounding the shooting of Ralph Yarl are an indictment upon racism and hate in Kansas City’s culture, where unarmed Black children and adults are far too often the victims of intimidation and terror. We are a traumatized community living with the reality of our bitter wound within our community and City.”

State Rep. Marlene Terry (D- St. Louis), Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chair, demanded in a statement Sunday that KCPD investigate the shooting quickly and with full public transparency.

“Ultimately, this tragic incident underscores why ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ policies like so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws do far more harm than good,” Terry wrote. “These laws breed a society of violence and fear while providing cover for those who harm, maim and kill others.

Kansas City’s police chief on Sunday said investigators will consider whether or not the suspect was protected within the Stand Your Ground laws.

“He is my student, my kids’ friend, my neighbor, my nephew; he is a kid that we all know. In our own Kansas City backyard,” Kelly Wachel, a spokeswoman for the Park Hill school district, wrote on Twitter.

“The shooting yesterday of Staley High Junior Ralph Yarl, an honor student who is planning on attending Princeton I was told by schoolmates, brought out hundreds of protesters to the northland,” Councilman Kevin O’Neill, District 1 at-large, Tweeted from the protest. “Honestly, this makes no sense and needs a thorough investigation.”

“Are we ready to talk about why Kansas City has expanded north so quickly?” Tweeted Manny Abarca, a Jackson County legislator. “The fact that Ralph couldn’t get help at three doors, is also concerning but seemingly left out of the stories. This is a cultural issue, that needs to be discussed just like the quantity of shots!”

National voices call for an arrest

On Sunday, Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. tweeted out contact information for the Clay County prosecutor’s office.

“My goodness…let’s be for justice, which is a continuum,” she also wrote. “That means the man who did this should be charged AND we need to work for the legislative and heart change to prevent these tragedies.”

Donna Brazile, the former interim head of the Democratic National Committee, also shared the family’s GoFundMe.

“Ralph Yarl should be home with his family, dreaming about his future. Instead, he is fighting for his life. Ralph was only trying to pick up his younger siblings, but was shot twice in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell,” Former Kentucky state representative Charles Booker wrote on Twitter. “Being Black is not a crime. Ralph deserves justice.”

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, urged his Twitter followers to pray for Ralph, while sharing a photo of the teen with his bass clarinet.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump told The Star on Sunday that his Florida-based law firm will help represent the teen’s family.

“You can’t just shoot people without having justification when somebody comes knocking on your door and knocking on your door is not justification. This guy should be charged,” Crump said.

Crump has represented the families in several high-profile cases including Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, as well as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

The family will also be represented by Lee Merritt, a Texas-based civil rights attorney who has previously represented the family of Cameron Lamb, who was fatally shot by KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere in 2019.

“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!” Merritt wrote on Twitter.

A few female celebrities took to Twitter Sunday to demand justice for Ralph.

“His name is #RalphYarl and I’m sick and tired of this feeling,” tweeted actor Halle Berry, who said her heart broke when she learned about the shooting.

Berry demanded that the person who shot Ralph be arrested. So did actor Kerry Washington, who urged her Twitter followers to close out of Netflix and call the Clay County prosecutor’s office on Sunday .

Actor Jennifer Hudson also tweeted Ralph’s name Sunday, adding that she was praying for his recovery.