Ralph Yarl, 17, describes the moment a white homeowner shot him in the head
A Missouri teen who was shot in the head and arm after accidentally knocking on the wrong door has described what happened for the first time.
Ralph Yarl, now 17, was shot in April after going to the wrong address when he went to pick up his younger twin brothers from their friend’s house in Kansas City, Missouri.
Yarl, who is black, knocked on the door of Andrew Lester, a white man, who shot him twice with a revolver. Lester was released on $200,000 bail and awaits trial after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
Now the teen has spoken out for the first time since the ordeal, revealing the sinister five words the gunman said to him before punching him twice on his front porch.
Ralph Yarl, now 17, was shot in April after going to the wrong address when he went to pick up his younger twin brothers from their friend’s house in Kansas City, Missouri. He is depicted with his mother Cleo Nagbe
Ralph Yarl has spoken out for the first time since the ordeal – revealed the sinister five words the gunman said to him before punching him twice on his front porch
Recalling the moments before he was shot by the homeowner, Yarl told Good Morning America, “I’m going up the driveway, I’m going up the stairs, I’m ringing the doorbell.
‘I didn’t know their family at all… so I think this is their house.
“I actually waited a long time. I hear the door open. I see this old man, and I assume he must be their grandfather, and then he draws his gun.
“I’m like woah, so I back off. He points it at me, so I brace myself and turn my head.
Ralph, center, was going to try to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house, but went to the wrong address
“Before I think, he’s really not going to shoot, the doors will even open, he’s going to shoot through his door and glass will get everywhere.
And it happened. I lie on the floor, I fall on the glass, the shattered glass. Before I know it I’m running away screaming help me help me.
“I was bleeding from my head. I was thinking, how is this possible.’
“He only said five words: ‘Don’t ever come here again.'”
His mother Cleo Nagbe said “it was traumatizing” when she first saw her son in the hospital bed after being shot twice.
Now, 10 weeks later, the aspiring musician and school scholar has made a full physical recovery – but he said there is still mental tension after the ordeal.
The teenager, who took his exams when he was just in eighth grade, now struggles with everyday tasks that would normally be easy for him.
He said, “A lot of things are happening in my head that are not normal. I have headaches, trouble sleeping and sometimes my mind is just foggy. I can’t concentrate on things that are easy to do.
A police officer is parked outside the property where Ralph Yarl was shot
More than $1.7 million has been raised through a GoFundMe account to help Ralph and his family with medical bills
The house is Kansas City, Missouri, had a “no lawyers” sign on top of the doorbell that Ralph accidentally rang
‘I’m just a child. I keep doing all the things that make me happy and just live my life the best I can and don’t let this bother me.
“Justice is the rule, the law, regardless of race, ethnicity and age. He must be convicted of the crimes he has committed. I no longer have a personal hatred for him.
“He should suffer repercussions, because that’s what our society is made of, trust in each other and the reassurance that we can live together in harmony.”
The shooting occurred on April 13 when Yarl accidentally went to Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace – one block apart – in northern Kansas City.
The teen approached the door but did not step “over the threshold” into the home, prosecutors said.
Lester allegedly opened the door and fired two .32-caliber bullets from a revolver that struck Yarl in the forehead and arm. Prosecutors previously said there was no indication that words were exchanged.
Lester told a police officer after the shooting that he saw a black man “pulling the outside handle of the storm door” and that he thought the person was trying to break in.
During an interview with a detective, Yarl said he only rang the doorbell and did not pull the door.
Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson confirmed there was a racial factor in the attack — after the teen music scholar was shot twice, in the head and arm, after ringing the wrong door when he went to pick up his younger brothers .
“I can tell you there was a racial component to the case,” Thompson said.
Ralph was known among his peers for his intellect and for being a “musical genius.”
The teen had received a letter from the Yale Undergraduate Admissions Board stating that he was a “good candidate” for the prestigious university.
Ralph is a member of the Technology Student Association and his high school’s Science Olympia Team, plays in the marching, jazz, and competition bands, and is one of the top bass clarinetists in Missouri.
He had big dreams of going to college after being recognized as an alumni of the Missouri Scholar Academy in 2022.
Ralph’s lawyers specialize in civil rights and have previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Cameron Lamb.