According to CNN, the homeowner accused of shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl twice is a white man in his 80s.
Earlier today (April 17), the outlet was able to partially identify the reported suspect after reviewing records and statements. The identification was confirmed by two representatives at the Kansas City Police Department detention unit. They also shared the man was taken into custody on April 13 just before midnight and was released less than two hours later.
But with the new information, the outlet has not released his name since he hasn’t been formally charged. In a previous report, Kansas City officers placed the suspect on a 24-hour hold while searching the crime scene. Authorities recovered a weapon that was said to be used in the shooting of Yarl. However, without additional evidence and a witness statement from the Black teenager, police released the man.
A neighbor of the suspect spoke with the media company about the night the shooting occurred. Yarl was attempting to pick up his brother from a house when he approached and rang the doorbell of a different home. One of its occupants shot the 16-year-old in the head. His attorney, Benjamin “Ben” Crump, told the outlet that he was wounded a second time in the chest.
The neighbor revealed they didn’t hear the shooting because they were asleep. But once they awoke, they went outside and saw that Yarl “was laying in the street surrounded by a few of our neighbors.” Yarl was transported to a hospital, where he is currently in stable condition.
Crump also shared the family informed him the person who shot the honor roll student was white. “It is inescapable not to observe the racial dynamics here,” Crump said. “If the roles were reversed,” he added, “how much outraged would there be in America?”