Accused shooter in Kansas City shooting of Black teen who went to the wrong house is White man in his 80s

By Tina Burnside and Amanda Jackson, CNN

(CNN)-A white man in his 80s is the individual who apparently shot and seriously wounded Ralph Yarl, a Black teen, on April 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, according to a CNN review of property records, police statements and detention records.

CNN is not naming the man at this time, given he has not been charged.

Two representatives at the Kansas City Police Department detention unit read the man’s booking information to CNN over the phone. They confirmed the man who was booked on an investigation hold was a White man in his 80s and his home address matches the address where the shooting took place.

The representatives also noted he was taken into custody on April 13 just before midnight and was released less than two hours later at 1:24 a.m. on April 14.

Property records, and a neighbor who spoke to CNN, confirmed the man and his wife are the homeowners living at the shooting location.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said in a Sunday news conference a “homeowner” was placed on a 24-hour investigation hold following the shooting. After consulting with the Clay County prosecutor’s office, the homeowner was released pending further investigation.

Police also said that they have to interview the victim, and collect other forensics.

CNN has not been able to reach the man for comment at this time. A lawyer was not listed in the booking report. CNN has requested the booking report and mug shot for the accused shooter, in addition to the incident report, but has not yet received it from the Kansas City Police Department.

‘It is inescapable not to observe the racial dynamics here,’ lawyer says Officers responded to a home on April 13, just before 10 p.m., after receiving reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Ralph, 16, who had been shot outside the residence by the homeowner.

Ralph was “shot twice and struck in the head and arm,” his family’s attorneys said in a statement.

The neighbor CNN spoke with said they did not hear the shooting because they were asleep. But did say once awake, “We came outside (the victim) was laying in the street surrounded by a few of our neighbors.”

Ralph was transported to a hospital where he is currently in stable condition, police said.

Family attorney Ben Crump said the teen was shot in the head and chest and is “obviously distraught” by the incident.

“He understands that he could be dead now,” said Crump, describing Ralph as a musician and an honor roll student who was hoping to attend Texas A&M University.

Crump claimed the shooting was a racial profiling incident in an interview with CNN’s John Berman.

“We have been informed by his family that it was a White man who shot their 16-year-old son,” Crump said, explaining that he believes the teen was shot because he is Black.

“It is inescapable not to observe the racial dynamics here,” said Crump. “If the roles were reversed,” he continued, “how much outraged would there be in America?”

At a weekend rally, community and family members marched to and demonstrated in front of the man’s house, calling for charges to be filed. Protesters marched as they chanted, “justice for Ralph” and “Black lives matter,” and carried signs reading, “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime” and “The shooter should do the time,” footage from CNN affiliate KMBC shows.

The teen’s father said, “We want charges. That’s what we want.”

Teen’s family seeking ‘swift action’

Police learned the teenager’s parents had asked him to pick up his siblings at an address on 115th Terrace, but he accidentally went to a home on 115th Street, where he was shot. Lawyers for Ralph’s family also say the youth was shot after he went to the wrong house.

“Ralph Yarl was picking up his younger brothers when he mistakenly rang the doorbell at the wrong house. A man shot Ralph twice and now he’s in critical condition. His family needs support during this tragedy,” Crump tweeted.

Attorneys for the wounded youth’s family issued a statement demanding “swift action from Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting.”

In a Monday interview with CNN, Crump said the shooting “hearkens back to Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery and so many of these other tragedies where you had citizens profile and shoot our Black children and the police then let them go home and sleep in their beds at night. Unacceptable.”

Asked whether the shooting may have been racially motivated, the police chief said, “the information that we have now, it does not say that that is racially motivated. That’s still an active investigation. But as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case.”

Graves sought to assure the Kansas City community Sunday the police department is committed to the case.

“We recognize the frustration this can cause in the entire criminal justice process. The women and men of the Kansas City Police Department are working as expeditiously and as thoroughly as we can, to ensure the criminal justice process continues to advance as quickly as all involved and our community deserve,” Graves said.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said there will be a thorough investigation and review by the prosecutor’s office.

“As a parent, I certainly feel for the mother of the victim and others in the family. My heart goes out to them,” the mayor added.

Teen was a band section leader

A GoFundMe started by Faith Spoonmore, who identified herself as Ralph’s aunt, to help the family raise money for medical expenses had garnered more than $1 million in donations by Monday morning.

Ralph had been looking forward to graduating from high school and visiting West Africa before starting college, his aunt wrote in the fundraiser.

The teen is a section leader in a marching band and could often be found with a musical instrument in hand, Spoonmore wrote. Most recently, Ralph earned Missouri All-State Band honorable mention for playing the bass clarinet, according to a North Kansas City Schools’ newsletter in February. He also plays multiple instruments in the metropolitan youth orchestra, his aunt wrote.

He is a member of his school’s Technology Student Association and Science Olympiad Team and is a 2022 Missouri Scholars Academy alumni, she wrote.

“Last summer, Ralph attended Missouri Scholar’s Academy, where he got a full college life experience,” Spoonmore wrote. “His goal is to attend Texas A&M to major in chemical Engineering. When asked how he plans to get into this university, he said, ‘Well, if they have a scholarship for music or academics, I know I can get it.’ “

“Life looks a lot different right now. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally. The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable,” the GoFundMe post reads.

Action Required: Medi-Cal Renewal Process Is Underway Across California

McKenzie Jackson | California Black Media

Californians enrolled in MediCal should keep an eye out for a yellow envelope in their mailbox over the next 14 months.

The Medi-Cal eligibility of over 15.4 million Golden State residents is under review for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

If a Medi-Cal beneficiary does receive the yellow envelope, they must provide their current contact information to health care officials as soon as possible to retain their Medi-Cal coverage, noted California Department of

Health Care Services (DHCS)

Assistant Deputy Director Yingjia Huang.

“It is critical that they do it by the due date that is on the packet that will come,” she said. “If that is not completed by the due date, there is a possibility that you will lose your coverage from MediCal.”

Huang was one of several speakers featured during an April 12 online media briefing held to notify Medi-Cal members of the health coverage eligibility check, which began on April 1. The media teleconference was organized by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services in partnership with DHCS. Medi-Cal is California’s version of Medicaid, the federal government-funded health insurance program.

Administered in conjunction with states, Medicaid is designed for people with limited incomes. The insurance covers services such as dental care, prescriptions, and medical and preventive care.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted in 2020, directed Medicaid programs nationally to keep everyone enrolled during the pandemic. The annual redetermination process was suspended due to the severity of the worldwide health emergency. However, federal agencies,declared the emergency over last month. So now, 80 million Americans are in the process of having their Medicaid eligibility checked by their states’ health department.

According to DHCS figures, 1,066,215 African Americans in California have Medi-Cal. Over 2.6 million Whites are enrolled in the program, as are 7.4 million Latinos. Over 2.8 million people who did not provide a race or ethnicity are insured by Medi-Cal and the number of Asian/Pacific Islanders enrolled is over 1.4 million. By ethnicity, people of American Indian/Alaskan Native descent account for the lowest number of enrollees at 55,851.

Education Freedom; Positioning All Students for Unprecedented Success

By Lisa B. Nelson and Michelle Harvey

Education Freedom; Positioning All Students for Unprecedented Success cont...

universal education freedom is that public schools will lose funding and low-income students will be most adversely impacted. Nearly two decades of research prove these assertions wrong. Research shows that healthy competition from education freedom programs has little effect on traditional schools in the same zip code. If anything, the studies show a slight increase in test scores.

Education freedom embraces everything from charter schools to learning pods, parochial schools, home schools, and even traditional public schools. The beauty of education scholarship accounts is that they allow parents and educators to be innovative and creative while maintaining academic guidelines set by the state. And, best of all, they provide students with the clearest path to success.

Lisa B. Nelson is CEO of the American Legislative Exchange Council. Michelle Harvey is a National Education Advisor.

For decades, parents have fought to provide education freedom for their children. The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program, passed in 2003, provided a glimmer of hope. The movement to pass a D.C. scholarship program was led by a mother, Virginia Walden Ford, who wanted a brighter future for her son. Twenty years later, six states -- West Virginia, Arizona, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, and Florida -- have passed significant legislation that empowers every family with education scholarship accounts. With funding in place, students are now positioned for unprecedented success. West Virginia, a state historically at the bottom of education success ratings, has emerged as a national leader in education freedom. Families may apply for a Hope Scholarship of $4,300 per eligible student and use the funds for a wide variety of educational expenses like tuition, testing fees, tutoring services, school uniforms, and more. They make a difference because they address the most basic of needs.

First, they provide parents with more control over their student's education. If a parent's standards aren't being met, they are empowered to make a change. The scholarships also allow students to choose the environment that best fits their learning style. Not every child learns at the same pace with the same lessons under the same methods. And finally, these scholarships will open doors for families who previously could not afford private schools. In a word, they offer choice.

The timing for this freedom has never been better. Postpandemic school closures, controversial curriculums, and lackluster academic success from traditional teaching models have motivated parents and commonsense legislators to embrace model education freedom policies like the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Hope Scholarship Act. This act, which creates an education scholarship account for any student throughout the state, is a pathway to education freedom.

Opponents of such a freedom claim to be the student’s only champion. But their one size fits all approach prioritizes the system over students. By contrast, education freedom advocates recognize that students need the option of both strong public schools and alternative forms of education.

The chief argument against

Thousands of Californians are missing out on federal student aid.

Here’s why

BY ADAM ECHELMAN

APRIL 13, 2023UPDATED APRIL 14, 2023

Thousands of adult Californians without a high school diploma want to take college classes. Unfortunately, those classes aren’t free, and the lack of a high school diploma cuts off access to most financial aid.

The good news is, there’s a fix. The bad news is most students don’t know about the fix, and most college officials don’t understand the laws surrounding it. Federal law has a special clause that allows students lacking a high school diploma to access financial aid money they would otherwise miss. Known as the Ability to Benefit, the provision opens up federal financial aid to adults without high school degrees who enroll in GED and college classes simultaneously. California community colleges also stand to benefit financially from the law because it could allow schools to boost enrollment and the number of students on federal aid, both of which are tied to the state’s new college funding formula.