A horrific incident rocked the United States, after an American teenager was killed for knocking on the “wrong door”, sparking a debate about the country’s self-defense laws.
What happened?
In a strange incident, a homeowner in the US state of Missouri was accused of shooting a teenager who rang the wrong doorbell in order to pick up his younger siblings.
The police report said Andrew Lister, an 84-year-old man, shot Ralph Jarl, 16, once in the head and once in the arm last Thursday night.
Miracle Ralph Jarl
The miracle was that the young American survived death, despite being hit in the head.
Jarl was discharged from the hospital days after the accident, and the young man’s aunt said that he could walk and move normally, but he would need a lot of rehabilitation on the mental side due to the head injury, and he has not yet revealed more details than that.
the racist side
The district attorney said the shooting had a “racial component” because of Ralph’s skin colour, but Lester was not charged with a hate crime and the police report did not classify him as “racially biased”.
protests in the city
Police initially detained Lester for questioning and let him go, sparking protests across the city on Sunday.
On Monday, protesters gathered outside the suspect’s home chanting “Black Lives Matter is under attack,” according to online videos. Leicester’s house was also reported to have been vandalized.
“You can’t shoot people without having a reason when someone comes and knocks on your door, and a knock on your door is not an excuse to kill,” said attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Jarl family.
Incident details
Ralph’s family said the teenager was trying to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house at around 10pm local time when he knocked on Leicester’s door.
Family members say the boy mistakenly went to 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace Street and rang the bell twice. After he was shot, he went to three nearby homes before someone helped him, they said.
Prosecutors said no words were exchanged before the homeowner opened fire with a .32-caliber handgun.
Accusing the perpetrator
Andrew Lester will face charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. The prosecutor said that the authorities have issued an arrest warrant for him and he is not currently in detention.
