- The GoFundMe page for Ralph Yarl has reached $2.6 million within a day of its creation.
- The Black teenager was shot twice while picking up his younger twin brothers.
The GoFundMe page for high school student Ralph Yarl, who was shot twice after ringing the wrong doorbell, has raised more than $2.6 million within a day of its launch.
Yarl, a Black teenager from Kansas City, Missouri, was shot on April 13 while picking up his younger twin brothers, the fundraising page said.
The 16-year-old didn't have his phone with him and went to the wrong block in a middle class neighborhood, wrote Faith Spoonmore, who organized the GoFundMe and identified herself as Yarl's aunt.
Yarl was shot in the head after someone answered the door, and then was shot a second time after he fell the ground, Spoonmore added.
Spoonmore described Yarl as a "fantastic kid" who attended scholar programs, plays the bass clarinet in his school orchestra and jazz band, and is a member of his school's science olympiad team and student technology association.
Yarl also seeks a music scholarship at Texas A&M, where he hopes to study chemical engineering, Spoonmore added.
"Ralph was looking forward to graduating high school and finally getting the opportunity to visit West Africa before starting college," Spoonmore wrote.
The funds raised on the GoFundMe page come from more than 68,000 donations, and have already exceeded the fundraiser's goal of raising $2.5 million. The money is to be used for medical bills and therapy, wrote Spoonmore. Additional funds left over are earmarked for Yarl's college expenses, his trip to West Africa, and "other expenses," she added.
She wrote that Yarl is "doing well physically," but has "a long road ahead mentally and emotionally" to recover from the shooting.
Yarl was released from hospital on Sunday, is able to walk, and is recovering at home, his father told the Kansas City Star.
Police on Monday identified the shooter as Andrew Lester, an 85-year-old white man. He is charged with armed assault, the Clay County prosecutor said.
Multiple celebrities and national figures have condemned the shooting.
"Let's be clear: No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell," Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted.
"A young Black boy HAS THE RIGHT to accidentally go to 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace WITHOUT BEING SHOT," musician Questlove wrote on Instagram.
Spoonmore did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.