Incidents like the racist shooting which happened in Kansas City, Missouri, underscore the fact that along with firearm ownership comes a responsibility to act with safety in mind at all times. Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old high school junior, is fighting for his life after mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell. The only thing about the young man, in any way threatening, was his skin tone. The obviously ignorant homeowner blasted him only because of his own superstitious prejudice.
Racist ignorance on display
Any card carrying American who considers himself a patriot and supports the Second Amendment, along with the rest of the Constitution, should be slamming the racist idiot who shot an innocent young man, simply for being Black. Not standing up and denouncing such superstitious nonsense is the same as endorsing it. Yes, we have a right to bear arms, and use force to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We have Elon Musk sending rockets to Mars, the days of superstitious ignorance should be over.
Along with that right comes the responsibility not to pull the trigger without a solidly valid reason. Someone ringing your doorbell at night, all by itself, is no reason to justify the use of deadly force. In this case, an innocent mistake led to a horrible shooting.
Ralph Yarl was expecting to pick up his siblings, from somewhere he had never been before. The directions were for “a residence on 115th Terrace, in the city’s northeast, but he instead went to a residence on 115th Street.”
#RalphYarl accidentally rang the door of the wrong house while trying to pick up his siblings. For this, a man shot him in the head. Then shot him a 2nd time as he was on the ground. The man is free and the 16-year-old is fighting for his life in the hospital. This can’t be it. pic.twitter.com/pcs8retddo
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) April 17, 2023
It’s such a common mistake that police have even been fatally making the same one. Instead of the family expecting him, Ralph rang the doorbell of an ignorant racist.
It seems that the young man wasn’t even given a chance to find out what he did wrong. He’s recovering from serious gunshot wounds. He was hit twice, once in the head.
“The bleeding teenager sought help from neighbors before he collapsed at the end of one family’s driveway.” The racist who shot him apparently has not yet been charged.
Alive and recovering
Attorneys for Yarl issued a statement noting the young teen “is alive and recovering” despite severe injuries. They confirm he was totally unarmed when shot by “an unidentified white male assailant.”
Police were able to take a statement from the victim at the hospital where he described the obviously racist attack. Expecting to be greeted by friends, he casually approached the front door and rang the doorbell.
After waiting in patient silence for “between three and five minutes,” the door opened. Without giving any chance for an explanation, the racist who appeared at the door muttered something about not wanting him “to come around anymore” and “opened fire on the boy’s face from behind a screen door.”
Ralph Yarl shot in head after ringing wrong doorbell while trying to pick up siblings? pic.twitter.com/IerwbnOGur
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) April 17, 2023
According to attorney Lee Merritt, “there’s no justification for that under this set of facts.”
Police aren’t revealing any details on the racist homeowner. They won’t mention gender or race. They did confirm that the trigger happy resident “was taken into custody and put on a 24-hour hold but was later released on the advice of Clay County prosecutors.”
They need to get “a formal statement from the victim, forensic evidence and compile additional information for a case file to be presented.” This is one case which should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. They don’t want to admit yet that the shooting was “racially motivated.” Normally, liberal prosecutors would be chomping at the bit for such a clear cut opportunity. This time it seems justified. More justified than the shooting.
