Summary

  • The mother of a 16-year-old boy who was shot in the head and arm after ringing the wrong doorbell has given an interview to CBS News

  • Ralph Yarl was trying to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend's house in Kansas last Thursday when he was shot in the head and arm

  • He was released from hospital on Sunday - his mother says she cannot understand how he survived after being shot as such close range

  • Andrew Lester, 84, has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action

  • Lester was initially detained for questioning following the shooting, before being let go, sparking protests across the city on Sunday

  • Yarl's lawyer, Lee Merritt, who has also spoken to CBS, says there was a racial component to the shooting

Live Reporting

Edited by Dulcie Lee, Alys Davies and Jeremy Gahagan

  1. Ralph Yarl shot after accidentally ringing wrong doorbell - family

    Ralph YarlFAITH SPOONMORE/GOFUNDME

    First let’s bring you some background to what happened last Thursday in Kansas City.

    Ralph Yarl's family say he had been trying to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend's house at around 22:00 local time on 13 April when he knocked on Andrew Lester's door.

    Family members say Yarl mistakenly went to 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace and rang the bell twice.

    After being shot once in the arm and once in the head, he went to three nearby homes before someone helped him, his family said.

    Police initially detained Lester for questioning and let him go, sparking protests throughout the city on Sunday.

    He has since been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, prosecutors said.

  2. Welcome to our coverage

    Alys Davies
    Live reporter

    Hello, you join us as we bring you coverage of an interview with the teenager Ralph Yarl who was shot after ringing the wrong doorbell in the US state of Missouri.

    The 16-year-old, who had been picking up his brothers last Thursday, was shot once in the head and once in the arm.

    Yarl survived the shooting and is due to give an interview, along with family members, to the BBC’s US partner CBS.

    Stay with us while we bring you some background to the story and of course the interview itself.