Ralph Yarl gets outpouring of love, more than $2.9M in donations

04/20/2023

1 2 minutes read

Mom reveals he is crying buckets of tears

More than $2.9 million in donations, thousands of prayers and well-wishes have poured in from across the world through a GoFundMe campaign for Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old black teenager who survived being shot twice by a white homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, after he rang his doorbell last Thursday night.

The GoFundMe campaign, created just over a day ago by Yarl’s aunt, Faith Spoonmore, had more than 3,500 comments and donations exceeding the campaign’s $2.5 million funding goal.

“He did not deserve any of this traumatic drama. GOD knew this and thanks be to GOD he kept you,” wrote donor Angela Pollitt who contributed $25 to the campaign’s haul. “I’m praying for you and your family[‘s] strength as you go [through] your healing mentally and physically. May GOD continue to bless you and your family. May justice be served!”

The campaign has continued to attract supporters since Clay County prosecutor, Zachary Thompson, announced Monday that Andrew D. Lester, the 84-year-old who shot Yarl, had been charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

In an interview with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings” Tuesday, Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, said her son, who was released from a hospital on Sunday, suffered gunshot wounds to his upper right arm and the left frontal lobe above his left eye.

She explained that Yarl had gone to pick up his younger twin brothers who were supposed to be having a sleepover with friends, but because she wasn’t comfortable with sleepovers, she allowed them to stay with their friends until 10 p.m.

Yarl was supposed to pick up his brothers at a home on N.E. 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to a house on N.E. 115th Street. He did not have his phone to verify the address.

“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,” Nagbe said. “That was what was supposed to happen. 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.”

She explained that the bullet that struck her son in the head was not removed for up to 12 hours, and the “residual effect” of that injury is expected to stay with him “for quite a while.”

Nagbe, who has been a nurse for nearly 20 years, said the only reason her son is able to recover at home is because he is surrounded by “a team of medical professionals,” including herself and other family.

She further noted that while her son is able to communicate “when he feels like it,” he “mostly … just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.”

“You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again,” Nagbe said. “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.”