Ralph Yarl shooting: Prosecutor awaits criminal referral from Kansas City police
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Ralph Yarl shooting
After a Kansas City teenager was shot and injured for going to the door of the wrong house, outrage followed in Kansas City and across the country.
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The top prosecutor in Clay County, where a 16-year-old was shot after going to the wrong home to pick up his younger siblings last week, said he’s still waiting on a criminal referral from the Kansas City police department before he can decide whether or not to file charges in the case.
Zachary Thompson, the prosecuting attorney for Clay County, released a statement at 10 a.m. Monday stating that his office is still “working as expeditiously as possible to address the matter” following the shooting of Ralph Yarl four days ago.
“However, we are actively working with law enforcement in an attempt to speed up that process so that we can review the file when it is submitted and determine whether criminal charges are appropriate,” Thompson wrote. “As always, it is our mission to ensure that justice is fully pursued and that the rights of all people in Clay County are protected and upheld by law.“
On Thursday, Ralph was asked by a parent to pick up his brothers from an address on Northeast 115th Terrace, according to the family and a statement from the Kansas City Police Department. Instead he went to a residence in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street.
There, a man opened the door, saw Ralph and shot him in the head, Faith Spoonmore, Ralph’s aunt, has 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 gather other information, including a formal victim statement and forensic evidence, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said over the weekend.
“While the details in an ongoing investigation are closed by the Missouri sunshine law, we are moving as quickly as possible to submit a full case file to the Clay County Prosecutors Office for review and determination of charges,” Capt. Corey Carlisle, a spokesman with the KCPD, said Monday morning after Thompson released a statement.
On Sunday, celebrities including Halle Berry and Kerry Washington posted photos of Ralph alongside contact information with the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office, demanding an immediate arrest of the homeowner who shot the teen.
“We understand how frustrating this has been, but we can assure the public that the system is working,” Thompson said.
As with any serious case submitted to our office, we will approach this case in an objective and impartial manner. We ask the public to trust the system to achieve a just result.”
The Star’s Andrea Klick contributed.
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 10:35 AM.
