Fundraiser for Ralph Yarl adds another $300k to more than $3 million total
A fundraiser for Ralph Yarl, the Black teen shot by a white man when he rang the wrong Kansas City doorbell, has added an additional $300,000 to its more than $3 million total.
The effort started by Yarl’s aunt Faith Spoonmore has raised more than $3.3 million in a few days to help the family pay for medical bills, therapy and college among other expenses.
Writer and activist Shaun King said on Instagram Wednesday that the 16-year-old is expected to make a full recovery after spending several days in the hospital.
“He’s home and looks great. Ralph is a WALKING MIRACLE with a head of steel,” King wrote with a laughing emoji.
The Staley High School jazz band, of which Yarl is a member, is also hosting a benefit concert from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the school’s Great Room.
Andrew Lester, 84, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to allegations that he shot Yarl twice, once in the head and again in the arm. Tuesday, he surrendered to officials almost 24 hours after they issued a warrant for his arrest, and hours later posted bail to leave jail.
News of the shooting has traveled across the country, spurring further conversation about systemic racism in the United States and in Kansas City’s Northland.
Yarl meant to pick up his younger brothers from a residence on Northeast 115th Terrace when he ended up at Lester’s home on Northeast 115th Street by mistake.
He told detectives that a white man answered the door with a firearm in hand after Yarl rang the bell. Yarl said the man shot him “immediately” in the head, causing him to fall. Then, the man allegedly shot Yarl again on the ground and told him not to return, according to police records.
Yarl ran to other homes asking for help, and eventually someone called 911 as a a group of neighbors gathered to help him after he collapsed in a driveway. He was taken to the hospital and released several days later on Sunday.
On the GoFundMe, Spoonmore said Yarl is at home with family and can “ambulate and communicate.”
“Each day is different,” Spoonmore wrote. “He has a long road ahead. However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us.”
