An 85-year-old man has been charged over the shooting of a black teenager who walked up to the wrong house when going to pick up his younger twin siblings in the United States.
The Clay County Prosecutor's Office charged Andrew Lester, of Kansas City, with first degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl on the doorstep of his home about 10pm on Thursday last week.
"I can tell you there was a racial component to the case," prosecutor Zachary Thompson told a news conference, without providing further details.
Kansas City has seen two days of protests after the white homeowner shot Yarl, who was released from the hospital and is recovering from gunshot wounds to the head and arm, according to his family.
Demonstrators gathered at the suspect's single-storey 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.
The homeowner was taken into custody, placed on a 24-hour investigative hold, then released pending an interview with Yarl and the collection of forensic evidence, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said.
The family's lawyer, Ben Crump, on Monday demanded that 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.
