Ralph Yarl, teenager shot for going to wrong house, speaks out for first time

Ralph Yarl, the ​​17-year-old Kansas City, Mo., resident who was shot in the head for going to the wrong house, said he is “just living my life the best I can” even as his mother expresses concern that he is still dealing with the trauma of the incident.

In his first interview since he was shot, Yarl told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts that as he continues to heal, he is going to keep doing all the stuff that makes him happy.

“I’m just a kid and not larger than life because this happened to me,” Yarl said.

Yarl was shot April 13 when he went to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s home but accidentally went to the home of 84-year-old Andrew Lester.

Yarl said when he saw Lester open the door, he was initially confused, thinking he must be the grandfather of his brothers’ friends. But when he saw Lester pull out his gun, Yarl said he started backing up. 

“He points [the gun] at me, so I kinda, like, brace and I turn my head,” Yarl told Roberts. “Then it happened. And then I’m on the ground, and then I fall on the glass. The shattered glass. And then before I know it, I’m running away shouting, ‘Help me, help me.’”

Yarl said he had to run to multiple houses before someone helped him. 

“I was bleeding from my head, I was like, ‘How is this possible? I’ve been shot in the head,’” said Yarl.

Lester told investigators he “saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle,” and he fired a .32-caliber revolver.

The bullet struck Yarl in the head, and as he lay on the ground, Yarl told officers, Lester fired once more and struck him in the arm.  

Yarl told Roberts that Lester then told him, “Don’t come here ever again.” 

Lester faces two felony charges in the shooting, for which he pleaded not guilty, and was released April 18 on a $200,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31. 

Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, told Roberts that when she received the call about her son being shot, she rushed to the hospital.

“He was partially alert when we got there but it wasn’t a pleasant sight,” said Nagbe. “It was traumatizing.”

Attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing the Yarl family, has called for an investigation into the case as a hate crime. 

“Race is a major factor in who gets justice and who doesn’t,” Merritt told Roberts. “In cases where there’s a white man and a Black child, I’ve seen over and over again the criminal justice system contort itself out of shape to find a way to justify the shooting.”

Although Yarl is healing, he said there are lots of things happening in his head that “aren’t normal.” He has experienced headaches, trouble sleeping and difficulty concentrating. His mother agreed that his brain has “slowed” since the injury.

“Physically he looks fine, but there is a lot that has been taken from him,” said Nagbe.

Yarl said he has no room for hate toward Lester, but added the 84-year-old must face the consequences of his actions.

“Justice is just the rule of the law, regardless of race, ethnicity, and age,” said Yarl. “He should be convicted for the crimes that he made.

“He should suffer repercussions because that is what our society is made of. Trust in each other and reassurance that we can coexist together in harmony,” Yarl said.