Ralph Yarl shooting: Prosecutors charge white homeowner Andrew Lester, 84, with attacking Black teenager
Suspect was arrested immediately after the shooting, but released after less than two hours
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Authorities in Kansas City, Missouri have charged an 84-year-old white man with the shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl.
In a press conference on Monday, county prosecutor Zachary Thompson said his office had charged a man named Andrew Lester wth first degree assault, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Mr Lester was arrested immediately after the shooting last Thursday night, but released by Kansas City police after less than two hours.
The homeowner has also been charged with armed criminal action, which is punishable by between three and 15 years in prison. His whereabouts on Monday evening were unknown.
Mr Thompson said that Mr Lester had shot Ralph through a glass door with a .32 calibre revolver without the 16-year-old ever crossing the threshold of his home, and that there was a "racial component" to the case.
Ralph's family have said that he was simply trying to pick up his younger twin brothers but went to the wrong house by mistake. The teenager is alive, and was discharged from hospital on Sunday after "making good progress".
"I know how frustrating this has been, but I can assure you that the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work," said Mr Thompson on Monday.
"As with any serious case, we approached this one in an objective and impartial manner. We look forward to obtaining a just result...
"It's been my goal from the very beginning to get justice for the child involved in the case."
The lack of charges over the weekend had sparked protests in Kansas City and uproar across the country as Ralph's family and the civil rights lawyers representing them called for the shooter to be prosecuted.
Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the Yarls, said that Ralph had rung the doorbell just before 10pm, believing that he was on the similarly-named street where his twin brothers live.
Mr Merritt said that the homeowner took a long time to appear, before telling Ralph "don't come back around here" and immediately shooting him without provocation.
Mr Thompson gave a different account, saying that the probable cause statement does not indicate any words were exchanged and that whether Ralph rang the doorbell "may be in dispute".
He said Mr Lester had been released last week because he could not be charged without getting a statement from Ralph, who was in critical condition at the time, and because officers believed that a proper investigation would take longer than the 24 hour limit on holding suspects without a charge.
Mr Thompson also defended the police from suggestions that they had not taken the crime seriously enough, saying: "I think the Kansas City police department worked extremely hard. Lab results were obtained on an extremely short timeline. That's not something you see every day."