Yarl said to Roberts that his mother had requested him to bring up his twin brothers from a friend’s home, but he had never been there before and had arrived at the incorrect place by mistake.
According to Yarl, he parked his vehicle in the driveway, climbed up the stairs, rang the doorbell, and then waited “a long time” for an elderly guy with a rifle to answer the door. Yarl remembered another glass door separating them.
“He aims [the rifle] at me… “So I kinda brace myself and turn my head,” Yarl said to Roberts. “And then it happened.” And suddenly I’m on the ground… and then I hit my head on the glass. The smashed window. “And then I’m running away, screaming, ‘Help me, help me.'”
According to authorities, Yarl was shot in the head and right arm on the evening of April 13 by Andrew Lester, a homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri. His family previously told ABC News that the boy, who turned 17 this month, sustained catastrophic brain damage.
Lester, 84, was indicted with one crime of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, all of which are felonies, according to Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson during a news conference on April 17.
Lester pled not guilty and was freed on a $200,000 bail on April 18. A court agreed to partly conceal the evidence in the case in response to a protective order filed by Lester’s attorney, Steven Salmon, and set his preliminary hearing for Aug. 31.
“In this case, the court entered an order prohibiting the dissemination of information from the discovery by both the prosecution and defense,” Salmon said in a statement to ABC News on Monday.
“Any declaration from Mr. Lester would unquestionably breach that injunction since he is a party to the criminal prosecution. I can confirm that Mr. Lester is anticipating the impending preliminary hearing.
Roberts was informed by Yarl that he was bleeding from the head after being shot and that he was astonished he was still “alert” at all. He said that his “instincts took over” and he started seeking for assistance, although Yarl claimed that he had to make many attempts after the first residence he went to refused to assist him and shut the door.
“I go on to the next house across the street after that. Nobody responds. And when I walk to the house to the right of that one, someone answers the door and instructs me to wait for the cops, he said.
Cleo Nagbe, Yarl’s mother, revealed to Roberts that she drove about in search of her son when he failed to return after dropping off his brothers.
She said that shortly after, she got a call from the police informing her that Ralph had been shot; as a result, she went straight to the hospital.
“It was traumatic,” she said.
Lester reportedly told police that he “believed someone was attempting to break into the house” and that he grabbed a revolver before heading to the door out of fear, according to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News.
White Lester said that he noticed a “Black male approximately 6 feet tall” yanking on the door handle and “shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door.” He said that the Black man fled, so he called 911 right away.
On April 14, when Yarl was recuperating at Children’s Mercy Hospital, police talked with him. He admitted to authorities that he rang the doorbell and denied turning the doorknob, according to the probable cause statement.
After the incident, Yarl’s aunt, Faith Spoonmore, told ABC News last month that her nephew didn’t want to return home since he had been shot in the area where he also resided.
But Yarl and his family have since moved. He said that he is seeing a therapist and intends to continue his rehabilitation by putting his love of chemical engineering and music at the center of his attention.
Because of what had occurred to me, “I’m just a kid and not larger than life,” he said. “I’m simply going to keep doing everything that brings me joy. And simply trying not to let this worry me while living my life to the fullest.”
After shooting a mistaken home, Ralph Yarl raises money for traumatic brain damage.
Yarl, who played the bass clarinet during his interview on “GMA,” also plays the tenor saxophone, clarinet, and contrabass clarinet. He admitted to Roberts that listening to music supported his recuperation.
He said, “Classical music sort of connects with me.
“I feel kind of energized just by the feeling it produces and the fact that you can make it yourself.”
The family is “overwhelmingly grateful” for the outpouring of love and support they have received since the incident, according to Nagbe, who described her son’s recovery as a “blessing” and said that everyone who has contributed to the fund or sent letters in support of Ralph has made a difference in his life.
Every day, she claimed, she would sit and read a letter while sobbing.
Ralph and his family have been sending thank you letters to the folks who gave him letters, Nagbe revealed to Roberts.
She said, “I simply believe that if they took the time to write Ralph a letter, then I owe them the time to write them a thank you message.
When asked how he perceives justice, Yarl said, “Justice is just the rule of law, regardless of race, ethnicity, and age.”
He said, “[Lester] needs to be punished for the atrocities he committed. “I no longer harbor any personal animosity toward him.”
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