SCARS

Ralph Yarl Is Crying ‘Buckets of Tears’ But Is Improving, Mom Says

“You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesn’t stop my tears either,” she said.

Ralph Yarl’s mother said her son is crying “buckets of tears” after being shot when he mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City, Missouri. Despite that, Cleo Nagbe said she’s encouraged by her son’s spirits. “Ralph is doing considerably well,” she said on CBS Mornings Tuesday. “Physically, mornings are hard, but his spirits are in a good place. I borrow from his spirits.” Nagbe said her 16-year-old is “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.” According to prosecutors, Ralph went to pick up his siblings but went to the wrong block, instead ringing 84-year-old Andrew Lester’s doorbell. Lester opened the door and shot Ralph “within seconds” as he said “don’t come around here,” according to a probable cause affidavit. Lester claimed to police that he was scared that Ralph, an honor student and all-state band member, was trying to break into his house because the boy tried to open his door, but Ralph disputed that. “You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesn’t stop my tears either,” Nagbe said. Lester turned himself in on Tuesday afternoon to face charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.