Cleo Nagbe: Ralph Yarl's mom reveals son, 16, had a bullet lodged in his head for 12 hours, says 'the injury is extensive'
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: The mother of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black teenager who was shot by an 84-year-old white homeowner after he rang the man's doorbell, revealed that the bullet was lodged in his head for 12 hours. In a recent interview, Cleo Nagbe spoke out on the horror incident where her son was shot twice by Andrew Lester after the teenager mistakenly got to the wrong address to pick up his twin siblings. The shooting has raised several questions about the racial quality in the justice system.
Speaking to CBS Mornings’ Gayle King on Tuesday, April 18, Nagbe talked about the physical injuries that her son suffered from the attack on Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri. “Ralph was shot on the top of his left eye – his frontal lobe and the top of his right arm,” she said. “He had the bullet up here [in his head] for about 12 hours before it was taken out so that injury is extensive," Nagbe added, implying that the resulting injury from not removing the bullet for 12 hours may remain with her son "for quite a while." The teenager was, however, released from the hospital on Saturday and is now at home and recovering surrounded by his family.
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'Replaying the situation over and over again'
Nagbe further talked about how her son has been communicating. While Yarl usually speaks when he wants to, he "mostly just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just roll down his eyes," she said. "You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again. And that just doesn’t stop my tears either, because when you see your kid just sits there and constantly he just – tears are just rolling from both sides of his eyes, there’s nothing you can say to him," she added.
Yarl ended up on 115th Street instead house on 115th Terrace
Recalling the incident that took place on the night of April 13, Nagbe told CBS that she had asked Yarl to go pick up his siblings in his car. However, the teen forgot to carry his phone and got confused on his way to the address. He ended up outside a home on 115th Street accidentally instead of the friend’s house on 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri. “He went and rang the doorbell. And he was supposed to stay outside, and his brothers were supposed to run outside, get in the car and they come home,” she said. “While he was standing there, his brothers didn’t run outside, but he got a couple of bullets in his body instead of a couple of twins coming up, out, and giving him a hug.”
Lester was 'scared to death' at the sight of Yarl
Yarl allegedly rang the doorbell before the homeowner 84-year-old Lester shot him twice through a glass screen door using a .32 caliber revolver. Prosecutors said that no indication of Yarl and the white man exchanging words had been found before the open fire, as per Independent. Moreover, there is no footage of the encounter. Lester, in his defense, told police that he was in bed when he heard the bell ringing and thus grabbed a handgun. At the sight of Yarl, the man admitted to being "scared to death" and was worried if he would be able to defend himself given his old age. Lester also claimed that the young teen tried to break in and so he shot him.
No signs of a break-in
Yarl, on the other hand, told police from his bed at Children’s Mercy Hospital that he only rang the doorbell and did not try to enter the home. He added that after being shot, Lester allegedly told him, “Don’t come around here.” Prosecutors have also not found any signs of a break-in at the property.