Teen Critical After Being Shot After Entering Wrong House To Pick Up Siblings

A 16-year-old teenager is fighting for his life after getting shot when he entered the wrong house to pick up his siblings in Kansas City, Missouri.

Police officers were dispatched to a home near N.E. Cookingham Drive and N. Tracy Avenue around 10 p.m. last Thursday, local news station Fox 4 reported.

The police found the teenager, identified as Ralph Yarl, suffering from life-threatening injuries and immediately transported him to a hospital.

Kansas police then brought the alleged shooter to their police department and recovered the weapon. However, the alleged shooter was released after a 24-hour investigative hold by police.

Authorities said Yarl was supposed to pick up his siblings at a house on N.E. 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to a house on N.E. 115th Street.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said in a press conference that they would forward the case to the Clay County prosecutor's office once their investigation has concluded.

"We want the community to know that we are committed to justice in this case and every case, and work every day to seek that justice for all victims of the crime," Graves said, People Magazine reported.

Kendall Smith, a resident near the crime scene, said it was the first time such an incident had occurred in their neighborhood.

"I don't know anything about the circumstances, but it was a bad deal. It's bad. It's a bad deal for everybody. It's something that happened in the neighborhood — we never have an incident up here like that," Smith said.

The incident sparked outrage among Kansas residents, and nearly one thousand people walked in the streets near the crime scene to show support for the teenager.

Dee Porter, the protest organizer, said their demonstration wanted to emphasize that it could have been their child who got shot after an address mix-up.

"This could be anybody's child, so I mean, with all these people out here, you can feel this too," Porter said.

Dr. Faith Spoonmore, Yarl's aunt, is grateful for the outpouring of support from the protesters, saying that her nephew "will feel the love."

Paul Yarl, the victim's father, was still processing that his son was in critical condition, adding that he feared losing his kid.

Paul insisted that his son was a "good kid" while demanding justice for him.

Yarl's father urged the prosecutor to press charges against the shooter, warning that freeing the suspect would lead to another kid getting shot after ringing his house's doorbell.

The victim's family had already set up a GoFundMe page to accept donations for Ralph.