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Biden spoke with 16-year-old boy shot after going to wrong house

President Joe Biden called Ralph Yarl as the teenager recovers from being shot in the head and arm after going to the wrong house.
16-year-old Ralph Yarl
Posted at 11:41 AM, Apr 18, 2023

The 16-year-old who was shot when he went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings received a call from President Joe Biden. 

"The President spoke by phone to Ralph Yarl and shared his hope for a swift recovery," the White House said in a statement following the call. 

Ralph is back at his Kansas City, Missouri, home, where he's recovering from a gunshot wound to his head and his arm.  

Ralph's mother, Cleo Nagbe, told Gayle King on "CBS Mornings" that her son, an accomplished clarinetist, and the president bonded over music during their conversation.

On Monday, the 84-year-old man accused of shooting Ralph was charged with two felonies

Ralph Yarl

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"To shoot a teenager just for ringing your doorbell cannot be the message that we send to society," said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family.

Nagbe said while her son is making tremendous progress in his physical recovery, he will also have to heal mentally.

"He's able to communicate, mostly, when he feels like it, but, mostly, he just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes," she told King.

Nagbe added that Ralph continually replays the situation "over and over."

The Kansas City Police Department said it's still investigating the case.

"The information that we have now, it does not say that that is racially motivated. That's still an active investigation. But as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case," said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves.

Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy joined by other members of law enforcement.

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