A homeowner received felony assault charges Monday after he apparently made the mistake of shooting a teen before making a proper threat assessment.
The 85-year-old defendant in Kansas City, Missouri has been charged with armed assault and armed criminal action after shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, who rang his doorbell by mistake last week, local media reports.
The teen was supposed to pick up his younger brothers from a home on 115th Terrace. The victim went to 115th Street instead.
When Yarl rang the doorbell of the wrong house, the resident opened the door and shot the teen in the head. The teen’s aunt Faith Spoonemore wrote online about the occurrence.
SEE MORE: Homeowner Shoots 14-Year-Old Attempting to Break Into Car
Spoonemore claimed that Yarl was shot initially, and fell to the ground. The homeowner shot him again, in the arm.
The shooter was taken into custody but released after consultation with the prosecutor’s office. Many onlookers expressed discontent with this decision.
After two days in critical condition at the hospital, Yarl was released to go home where he has been under the care of his mother, who is a nurse. He has been slowly regaining his strength.
Public Response to Teen Shot
News articles published earlier by countless publications indicated that the investigation was ongoing. At that point, The Chicago Tribune reported that Kansas City police did not believe the incident to have originated from racial prejudice. Investigators considered whether the “Stand Your Ground” law was applicable in this case.
Monday night, the decision was made by prosecutors, and the homeowner’s charges were announced. Clay Thompson, an attorney involved with the case stated, “There was a racial component to the case.”
The incident has led to the vandalization of the shooter’s home. It has caught the eye of many influential people who spoke up about the unfortunate situation.
CNN and 6ABC News were among the many outlets to display statements about the boy.
Why His “Self-Defense” Got Him Assault Charges
The laws regarding self-defense through lethal force vary from state to state. Some states require a victim to run if possible. Others encourage “standing your ground,” under the aforementioned law.
There are, however, three things that are fairly constant in most states.
Before you should ever consider using a lethal weapon to defend yourself, you must first be in serious danger of injury or death. You must also be in imminent danger, or in other words, the danger must literally be upon you. And lastly, lethal force (a gun) must be your ONLY way to defend yourself. If any of those requirements aren’t met, shooting someone is generally against the law.
SEE MORE: What to Do After You Shoot Someone in Self Defense
As the investigation unfolds and more details come to light, we may gain further insight into the homeowner’s perspective. However, based on the available information and current facts, there is no doubt that he is facing serious consequences for his actions.
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Well, it will never be repeated enough, shooting someone and facing the legal system afterward will never be a walk in the park. One has to be really cautious of what he’s doing and be conscious of why he’s doing it. There are times, more often than otherwise, when you are way better not to shoot. When your life will be put to pieces by a zealous prosecutor and the likes … it will be … well … a bit late to understand. The very best advice I heard on the matter is “stay away from the legal system as much as you can”. Each one has to figure out for himself how far he wants to push this and literally how he plans to adapt to a would be self defense scenario.
Based on the known facts, there is no way this was a justifiable shooting. Being gunowners, we have responsibilities and one of those responsibilities is knowing what we are shooting at and whether it is justifiable under the law. I’m sure additional facts will become know and there may in fact be extenuating circumstance. However, at this time this was a bad shoot.
Some accounts I’ve read say that Yarl did more than just ring the doorbell. More details are needed.
There are so many shootings (Mostly by blacks in the Orlando Fl. area) that many white people are afraid for their lives, imagine how paranoid an 85 year-old man is! I feel bad for the person that got shot, according to the news he was a good kid.
Parents need to take more time to talk with their children, keep them away from gangs, drugs
& anyone that is a bad influence. Television talks mostly about Mass shootings but in comparison, there are more (weekly) ghetto-neighborhood shooting, than mass shootings!
I think a 16 year old knocking your door is not a threat. Why should this have to be said. Paranoia, being older and vulnerable, does not give someone the right to shoot everyone that knocks at your door.. Usually the response to a mistaken residence for most folks is just ” hey there buddy can I help you?” This dude is just trigger happy racist and does not deserve any mention by the 2a community.
When the states permitted some responsible people the privilege to carry concealed weapons, it was the worse thing that could have happened to the United States. Since then and Donald Trump, this county has been headed in a downbound direction. Before Trump mentioned the media, all was well but, some people need people like Trump to think for them, guide them and tell them what to do. Most people with just a little “common sense” want to live in peace, but some will not be satisfied until another country rules every step they make. By the way, I served the United States for twenty-seven years. Would I do it again? I’m not sure
WOW, let’s stick to what can be verified, you have TRUMP derangement syndrome and are delusional.
Trump, Trump, Trump, just STFU with your lefty nonsense, it’s old and annoying already.
Sorry Mr. Williams, you are wrong. Perhaps you are around 45 years old if you enlisted at age 18 and served 27. In that time you apparently did not learn much about the country you swore to defend. If you think a persons right to carry a firearm un-infringed is wrong, what do you think about anarchists burning down the centers of some towns? What do you think about black sections in large metro areas LEO’s will not patrol? If there is more to this story than just ringing the wrong doorbell, let’s hear it. But, if it was just the wrong house, this man violated every rule of concealed carry and castle laws and should face the consequences. Consequences, if anything, to protect the rights of the rest of us to keep carrying.
your service has no merit because you violate your oath.
what part of uphold and defend the constitution do you not understand? if you don’t want to be considered a domestic enemy of the US,fix yourself
Maybe we should hold the media responsible, like they want to hold Gun manufactures liable, because their product of fear they placed in this elderly man to make ratings? That should solve everything!
Same punk. Don’t trust the media folks. When will you learn they LIE TO YOU?
https://files.catbox.moe/djvnri.webm
No…its not the same person…not even close…stop spreading misinformation…don’t you pro putin commie russians have enough on your hands without spreading lies
Old white people are a menace and should have their guns taken away.
They listen to Fox News all day, which tells them people of color/young people are out to get them, and then they shoot innocent people (young and/or a person of color) just because they knocked on their doors or drove onto their driveways.
Go home fed boi
Slightly paranoid , are we not ?
Whom listens to what again ? I’m a little confused
by your assertions .
Look it up and then tell us about Roderick Scott from Greece, NY. Or how about the Carr brothers from Kansas.
“Old white people are a menace and should have their guns taken away.” You totally miss the irony of your own words. Next time you see an “old white people” you should thank them for putting you at the top of the food chain.
You missed the white woman who was killed just for driving into the driveway of a black guy.
He wasnt black ..he was white but yeah go off..his name is Kevin Monahan…pretty sure thats celtic in origin…but just in case
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna80436&ved=2ahUKEwiz0-2Kvb7-AhVPk2oFHWW0BcYQFnoECBIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2hGEcPUA5n594c_HBMSDD6
where is the outrage and riots for the white 6yr old girl and parents over a basketball going into a black mans yard???
I guess it don’t fit the narrative you and your like are hawking……
You mean the guy they arrested and NOBODY is looking to justify what he did unlike you trying to justify this othe guy? Man just stop…this is clearly not your speed.
Just pointing out the obvious but since you missed that then he is a convicted felon that your kind felt sorry for and let back out and let have a gun. your way or the highway crap don’t fly with me! last where is the snide remarks for your buddy who bought up the another shooting a few replies up????
Go back to Calguns and post your stupid nonsense for those whiney little beaches, you no thinking clown.
please check out this video I would like to know which one is true please.https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=737567371402624&aggr_v_ids%5B0%5D=737567371402624¬if_id=1682020290604769¬if_t=watch_follower_video_explicit&ref=notif
This is an unfortunate incident that should never have happened, however give the long standing main stream media’s insistance of grand standing all the rioting and so called mass shootings, it is not hard to phathom that an 84 year old would feel threatened under the circustances. However I truely doubt, if the homeowner had been black and the young man had been white, we would be hearing much about the case because that’s what the bad guys are telling the news folks to put out to the public. Anything to cause division and dissention in our country.
This is the result of the main stream presstitututes spreading fear porn far and wide with all the reporting of shootings, mobs, street attacks, all for the Agenda of Gun Control! It will always fall back on the innocent no matter the color of one’s skin!
Tragedy abounds in this incident, on all sides.
Owning any firearm comes with responsibilities and consequences for each press of the trigger, good, or bad.
The firearm is nothing more than a tool. It is the handler of it that makes or breaks the laws. In all my years of buying, selling, owning, handling, researching, disassembling/reassembling and generally being around them, at no time has one ever jumped up all on it’s own and fired (well, unless you’re filming a movie in New Mexico).
But, before we have a trial of public opinion on this shooter, I’d begin to wonder about a few points that may or may not come out in court.
If this shooter is 85, born around 1938, was or was he not a veteran of Korea or Vietnam? If he was, might he have seen combat and done as so many of them have, lived with undiagnosed and untreated PTSD for the last 60 years or so. That doesn’t make it right, it just makes it a possible extenuating circumstance, in mitigation.
Additionally, I’m wondering what the shooter does all day. How input influences. We all have a big black box in our living rooms, with a partial purpose to act as a babysitter for young children and the elderly. And if you watch that box all day, you’ll hear a narrative of divisions being pushed at every turn. We are in an upside down world today, and someone of that generation may be looking at the silliness of it all and crafting the desired opinion of the influence, taking his place in line on one side or the other of issues. There’s not dialogue and discourse anymore, it’s line up on this or that side of each issue and stand firm and unwavering.
Have that big black box spew out stories of crime and criminality all day, cherry picked for the old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads!”, or any crafted hype for pushing a nefarious agenda, and anyone can get a jaded opinion of anything going on outside their own 4 walls.
Everyone is more on edge these days. Everyone’s fuse is shorter. The economy is in rough shape, and the general morale of the citizenry has been shifted towards an instant distrust, along with an inherent fear lurking in the shadows of everyone’s mind. That’s one of the reasons gun sales continue to rise, and ammo continues to be too scarce and too expensive.
Not saying that this guy is any of this stuff. Hopefully, it will all come out at trial and a jury box of reasonable people will decide his fate. He might just be an old crotchety bastard that hollers “Get off my lawn!” at every turn.
Let’s allow the trial to play out, and if we need to formulate an opinion right now, make it an opinion as part of your own plan. Should similar circumstances happen to you, try to remember your plan and stick to it. BUT, if that plan results in a trigger press, you’re going to need to explain it to a bunch of different folks, and some of them that you’re not even aware of are going to be typing on keyboards and posting their take of your actions on forums all over the place.
The armchair quarterback always wins the game.
This is sad. I know the guy was old, just a few years older than me, but he still should have checked who was at the door before opening & shooting! Just a simple yelling out a question probably would have changed this whole thing! What a shame that because of a split-second decision, 2 people’s lives have been so seriously changed.
Your title called this a self defense shooting. Call it what it was, attempted murder. There are too many crazy and scared people in this country that own guns and it has to stop. You don’t shoot someone for ringing you freaking doorbell, I don’t care what time of the day it is. If your that scared move to a safe state like New York. I’m not afraid of my own shadow.
Some of these posts with attempts at comedy are hard to tell anymore with radical lefties posting on our sites.
Readers on this cite are constantly reminded of the laws regarding shooting someone in self-defense. Yet, when it happens, the comments made in support of shooting make my head spin. “He’s 85 years old”…”What was he supposed to do?”…”stand your ground”.
None of these have anything to do with trying to kill someone for knocking on your door. Shooting someone is different from cussing them out, or punching them…it cannot be done just because you are angry. Hell, recently, a man shot and killed a woman for pulling into his driveway!
Everyone on this site owns a gun, and many still need to figure out that taking a life is incredibly serious, with repercussions to everyone involved. It is not something to be joked about, and in many cases, it can prove how truly stupid someone is.
Smh…reading all these race comments…blaming the black community…this was an INNOCENT kid…not black kid…an American kid…plays a friggin classical woodwind instrument…if you can’t rationalize that aspect first…yes that is racist…you may not be A racist…but that is a racist perspective. There is no justification…an elderly man overreacted and needlessly shot an innocent American teen…justioe the guy in rural NY needlessly shot and killed that young lady who simply turned around in his driveway.
https://files.catbox.moe/djvnri.webm
Same kid. Same week. “Innocent kid”.
False…not that kid at all…not even same state…quit lying to support your racist habit. Next you will try to tell me a picture of Yosemite Sam was Teddy Roosevelt.
Let us ALL be thankful that you were duly elected
the racial regulator of the U.S.A – no , I’m sorry , the
World . We’re all better off with you amongst us , I’m
certain .
In case it “ slipped past “ your excellency’s observation ,
there is only ONE race for us ……… , the HUMAN race .
If you wish to be a participant in the scheme to divide we
Americans against one another , I’d suggest you save it
for the next democrat convention .
An 85 year old man has a TOTALLY different level of “Fearing for ones life” than a 45 year old. I am a 66 year old right leg amputee. I can NOT flee if threatened. I can’t even back up without falling. I wish for one second that
people realize that the level of “Fearing for ones life” can be RADICALLY different depending on age, disabled handicapped, etc.
Old people and amputees deserve to be able to protect themselves and their homes too.
The old man’s case falls under The Castle Doctrine, and his personal PERCEIVED level of fearing for his life.
Perhaps he watches a LOT of news. That would make anyone terrified.
Didn’t you know, all us old people are 80’s action stars! We are able to take out terrorist compounds with an umbrella so we don’t need guns for strange banging on our doors………
If you are worried someone at the door may hurt you, DON’T ANSWER THE DOOR! I don’t care how old someone is, or if their body or mind is not 100%…opening the door and shooting someone is absurd. This man is being charged, just as he should be.
“Old people and amputees deserve to be able to protect themselves and their homes too.” YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT!! There is nothing at all in this story that justifies the action taken.
Funny that 30 more shooting events in Kansas City since this tragedy happened did NOT make the news. Sad that when people of the same skin tone shoot (at) each other, it isn’t news.
If someone is pounding on your door, and you think you need to answer it with a gun in your hand… do NOT open the door.
This case has nothing to do with self defense or stand your ground. Making that connection is irresponsible as hell. This was racially motivated murder. Period.
Evidence is a funny thing, and you have none.
Regarding the Yarl shooting:
“The teen was supposed to pick up his younger brothers from a home on 115th Terrace. The victim went to 115th Street instead.”
If you’re not from KC, the streets running E/W (for the most part) alternate between “Street” and ”Terrace” the entirety of Kansas City in a grid, about 25 miles north to south. I lived on 69th Terrace and constantly got mail or deliveries or visitors looking for 69th Street. Everyone who’s lived or visited KC has mistaken one for the other- the address numbers are the same. I’m sure the shooter has done the same. KC is unique in this way from the other 27 addresses I’ve had across 7 states and two countries. The locals have this inherently embedded in their psyche. I’m sure the shooter has dealt with this before. Castle Law should not be a valid defense, simply because of the above.
Um, Patrick. The murder victim is at home, resting comfortably. And you’re preaching responsibility?!?!? Rich irony.
LOLOLOLOLO,
Besides thos short four sentences, I cannot find anything wrog with Patrick’s statement.
Nobody and I mean nobody dares to shoot or otherwise cause harm to a black man these days. Because by the time the media gets thru with the story they’ll be lucky to get a fair trial. If things are truely like it’s been reported then the old man was wrong… but we need to at least hear the whole story before we convict the man. I’m quite sure it didn’t happen just as we’re hearing so far. Remember… innocent until proven guilty
What would make an elderly person so fearful? Turn on the TV, teens and preteens beat old man to death, teen girls kill uber driver, group of teens beat woman, etc, etc, we’ve watched rioters kill people destroy and loot business’s and homes, all with little or no prosecution. What a surprise, reap what you sow
I put this on his peers that are committing the crimes not the home owner!
I suspect their is more to this than reported especially when there is eyewitness accounts from people that weren’t even there.
This sits squarely on the shooter. Period. He answered the door with gun in hand and shot the teenager in the head through the glass door. And then shot him again. He shouldn’t have answered the door if he felt the person ringing the doorbell was an imminent danger to him.
well since you were there why don’t you regale us with more details than the standard news reporting????
Did the home owner answer the door? I have heard a differant account of the key details but still reserve judgement because little seems trustworthy. Put the rope away.
You are 100% correct. Ignore any stupid comments that someone will probably make. I’m sick and tired of all the criminals and crazy people making the rest of us good
gun owners look bad. Something has to be done.
Looking at the comments and ignorant assertions of opinions from people who were not there makes it clear that it is a miracle if anyone gets a fair trial in this guilty until proven innocent shit-hole of a country.
The 85 year old is innocent UNTIL proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt period! Cases are NOT tried on social media. Most people posting there are idiots anyway that would be disqualified from jury duty by any good defense attorney. The homeowner’s perception of threat and intent is the legal question here. Not someone else’s confusion about an address, etc. Those are irrelevant to the deciding factors in the case. The prosecutor, political hack or not, has the burden of proof here.