Featured Image Credit: Clay County Detention Center/Facebook/KSHB 41
Topics: Good News, Gun Crime, News, US News, Ralph Yarl
Ali Condon
Topics: Good News, Gun Crime, News, US News, Ralph Yarl
Teenager Ralph Yarl, who was shot in the head last month when he accidentally rang the wrong doorbell, has made his first public appearance since the horrific incident.
Ralph, 17, had gone to pick up his younger brothers from a friend's house in April when he mistakenly went to the wrong address.
When he rang the doorbell, homeowner Andrew D. Lester, 84, shot the Black teenager twice - once in the head and then in the arm.
The teen was left with a traumatic brain injury, but made a miraculous recovery and was out of hospital in the space of a week.
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Now, Ralph has made his first major public appearance just over a month since the shooting.
Ralph was seen on Monday (29 May) with family and friends at an annual Memorial Day race for brain injury awareness at Loose Park in Kansas City Missouri.
Speaking ahead of the Going the Distance for Brain Injury race, Ralph's mother Cleo Nagbe said: "It takes a community. It takes a family. It takes a support group, all of that.
"Let's raise more awareness to stop the things that cause brain injuries and should not be causing them, especially gun violence."
Alongside Ralph and his family were approximately 1,000 other runners, from fellow brain injury survivors and their loved ones to supporters.
Among them, many could be seen wearing bright neon green t-shirts with the words 'Team Ralph' written across them.
Ralph's aunt Faith Spoonmore, who set up a GoFundMe page for the teenager while he recovered in hospital, said: "It's important for Ralph to see that he is not alone."
She added that, while Ralph is up and walking again, he still suffers with balance problems, debilitating migraines, mood changes and trauma as a result of the shooting.
Meanwhile Andrew D. Lester is facing two felony charges for the shooting - one for assault in the first degree and another for armed criminal action - though there has been uproar from the public regarding police's treatment of Mr Lester.
Before he was charged, the 84-year-old was taken into police custody and held for two hours before being released.
Police said they had to let the suspect go because they needed to get a formal statement from the victim before they could take the next steps, and Ralph was in hospital with serious injuries at the time.
When police eventually got a statement from Ralph, Mr Lester was charged with the two felonies which could see him go to prison for life, but more than 20 hours passed before he was taken into custody.
He was no sooner in police custody than released again after posting a $200,000 bond.
While Ralph's legal team has said that they're happy with the two charges made against Mr Lester, they have publicly questioned he hasn't been charged with attempted murder.
Mr Lester has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is next due to appear in court on June 1.