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Prosecutors in the US have charged an 84-year-old white man following the shooting of a black teenager who walked up to the wrong house when going to pick up his younger twin brothers.
Andrew Lester was charged with first-degree assault, which could bring a sentence of life in prison, and armed criminal action for wounding Ralph Yarl (16), on the doorstep of his suburban home in Kansas City last Thursday night, the prosecutor said.
"I can tell you there was a racial component to the case," Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson told a news conference, without providing further details.
Mr Lester fired two shots through a glass door from a revolver, the prosecutor said.
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The teenager, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, Mr Thompson said, adding it did not appear any words were exchanged in the encounter. The teen was recovering at home on Monday, his family said.
In addition to facing life in prison should he be found guilty of the assault charge, Mr Lester could be sentenced to up to 15 years for criminal action, the prosecutor said. Hate crimes, which were not filed, carry lesser penalties in Missouri, he added.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Mr Lester with bond set at $200,000.
The homeowner was initially taken into custody, placed on a 24-hour investigative hold, then released pending the collection of forensic evidence, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said.
His release helped fuel two days of protests. Demonstrators gathered again on Monday at the suspect's single-story house on a tree-lined street, shouting "Black lives are under attack" and "Stand up, fight back," online videos showed.
"No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell," Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted in response to the shooting.
US president Joe Biden spoke by phone with Mr Yarl, a senior administration official said on Monday.
The family’s lawyer Ben Crump had demanded the homeowner be arrested and charged with attempted murder of a teenager described by his school district as an “excellent student and talented musician.”
Missouri has a "stand-your-ground law" that allows homeowners to use physical force to defend themselves against suspected intruders.
The law says a person cannot use deadly force unless they reasonably believe it is necessary to protect themselves or another person against death or serious physical injury, or a possible felony.
Meanwhile, a man in upstate New York has been charged with the murder a woman who was in a car that mistakenly drove into his driveway in Hebron, New York.
Washington County sheriff Jeffrey J Murphy , said at a news conference that he and two other women never got out of the car. They were turning around after realising their error when Kevin Monahan (65), stepped out of his house and fired at least two shots at the car, the sheriff said.
One of the bullets struck Kaylin Gillis (20), and the group drove about 10km to a nearby town before they got through to emergency services.
Murphy described the killing of Gillis, who lived in Schuylerville, New York, about 20 miles from where the shooting happened, as “very sad.”
“She was an innocent young girl who was out with friends looking for another friend’s house,” the sheriff said, adding, “Unfortunately, they drove up this driveway.”
Monahan was being held at a local jail and was expected to appear before a county court judge “in the near future,” Sheffiff Murphy said. - Reuters/New York Times
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