Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) said early Wednesday that the recent shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl “has everything to do with race.”
Police say Yarl was shot twice by Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white homeowner, after the Black teenager accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers.
“This defendant, in the probable cause statement, is indicated to have said that he was afraid of Ralph because he is a tall, Black man,” Lucas told “CNN This Morning” on Wednesday.
“He thought he was in some way menacing or scary. I don’t think that was true,” Lucas said.
“I think that this has everything to do with race — the defendant’s fear of Black people, Black men, Black boys,” Lucas added. “I think if the young man wasn’t Black, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Lester, who has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, turned himself in to the Clay County, Mo., sheriff’s office on Tuesday.
Yarl was initially hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head and the arm but was released on Monday.
An attorney for Yarl’s family said on Tuesday that the teenager’s prognosis is “very, very positive” and he is expected to make a full recovery, beyond scarring and potentially post-traumatic brain injury symptoms.
Lucas on Tuesday suggested that Yarl was shot for “existing while Black.”
“I hope that it’s not mistaken or forgotten, the reason why many Black people and Black parents — myself included — are concerned is because, if one day it’s ringing on the doorbell that can get you shot, then what else is next?” he told CNN.