Man charged in shooting of black teen
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors in Missouri announced felony charges on Monday against an 85-year-old white man, after he allegedly shot and severely wounded a black teenager who mistakenly rang his doorbell.
Ralph Paul Yarl, 16, was in critical condition after he was shot twice — once in the head — last Thursday night when he rang the doorbell at the wrong house, while trying to pick up his twin brothers from a friend's home nearby.
Outrage rose over the case throughout the weekend, after it was revealed that the homeowner had been released without charges following 24 hours in custody.
However on Monday, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that the homeowner, identified as Andrew Lester, had been charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony.
Deadly shootings are a regular occurrence in the United States, a country of around 330 million people that is awash with an estimated 400 million guns.
According to a report released on Saturday by the National Urban League, extreme views adopted by some local, state and federal political leaders who try to limit what history can be taught in schools and seek to undermine how black officials perform their jobs are among the top threats to democracy for black people.
The organization's annual State of Black America report draws on data and surveys from a number of organizations, including the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.
The collective findings reveal an increase in hate crimes in recent years and efforts to change classroom curricula, attempts to make voting more difficult and extremist views being normalized in politics, the military and law enforcement.
"We see a very clear and concerning threat to America and a disproportionate impact on black Americans," said Rachel Carroll Rivas, deputy director of research with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.
Agencies Via Xinhua
