Ralph Yarl, the young Black teenager who was shot after he rang the wrong doorbell by accident was spotted with his family at an annual Memorial Day tradition in Kansas City. According to KMBC, the event is held once a year for people to get together and walk or run to bring awareness to brain injuries.
During the event, Ralph’s mom, Cleo Nagbe spoke with with the news outlet and said, “It’s heartwarming to see this kind of support, I pray the support is not just for Ralph. I pray the support goes a long way for everybody that is in this situation.” She also revealed how her family prepared for the walk and didn’t think it would be as difficult for Ralph but the teenager was overwhelmed by all of the support he was receiving once he attended the event. “It was mostly the anxiety for him,” she said. “Socially it’s still hard for him. So, I’m glad he was able to overcome this. I pray that he will be overcome most of his social hurdles after doing this.”
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obin Abramowitz, the Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City, gave a speech and welcomed Ralph and his family to event saying, “Every person’s journey is different, But knowing that others have a sense of what you’ve been through makes a huge difference in someone’s life.”
As we previously reported, Yarl told authorities he had mistakenly approached Mr Lester’s home to pick up his younger twin brothers. After Ralph rang the doorbell, Andrew Lester shot him twice – once in the forehead and once in the arm. To note, absolutely no words were exchanged before the homeowner opened fire with a .32 revolver, according to prosecutors.
Lester claims he’s not guilty after appearing in front of a Clay County judge. Yarl’s family attorney Lee Merritt was at the courthouse and said Yarl’s family chose not to come after getting slammed with media interviews. The attorney revealed at the time that Yarl was making a strong recovery. He also talked about Lester and the case moving forward, saying he is calling for an investigation into a federal hate crime charges.
“He’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Merritt said. “That’s the outcome that we’re hoping for, all of his assets are going to be come Ralph’s assets, and he’s going to have to deal with that.”
Lester told police that he was shooting in self-defense, because he believed Yarl was there to break into his home. He said firing his gun was “the last thing he wanted to do,” but was “scared to death” because of Yarl’s size and his age.