Ralph Yarl, teen shot after going to wrong house in Kansas City, walks at brain injury event

A 17-year-old who was shot in the head and arm after going to the wrong house and ringing the doorbell walked at a brain injury awareness event in Kansas City, Missouri, on Memorial Day, joining more than 1,000 people.

Ralph Yarl, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during the shooting, according to the Kansas City Star, and his family walked in the annual Going the Distance for Brain Injury race. Robin Abramowitz, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City, estimated about 1,100 people, including Yarl and his family, attended Monday’s events, which included a 5K, 10K, and a 1.5 mile walk.

Participation in the race supports programs and services provided by the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City, according to the association’s website.

“And so we want people to feel that they’re not alone, and that there’s a whole community there to support them and whatever they might do on their journey,” Abramowitz told USA TODAY. “So, we were connected with Ralph and his family and and we just wanted them to know and feel the love for them.”

Yarl’s mother, Cloe Nagbe, told KCTV she walks two to three miles with him every other day as he recovers from the shooting.

“It was mostly the anxiety for him because socially, it’s still hard for him,” Nagbe told the outlet. “I’m glad he was able to overcome this. Ralph is the kind of person who will do something, not because it’s good for him, but because it’s good for other people.”

Who is Ralph Yarl?

Yarl mistakenly went to Andrew Lester’s address while trying to pick up his brothers on April 13 and was shot, according to a probable cause statement obtained by the Star. Lester, 84, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action after he was accused of shooting Yarl.

The shooting sparked protests in Kansas City and outrage around the nation. Experts previously told USA TODAY the case may renew the debate over the country’s self-defense laws. In a court filing, Lester’s attorney suggested he planned to argue his client acted in self-defense, citing Missouri’s “stand your ground” law.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Yarl’s family, called for the shooting to be investigated as a hate crime. Prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a “racial component” to the incident, but hate crimes are lesser felonies that carry a lower range of punishment than the charges Lester faces.