As police promised to proceed swiftly with the inquiry, hundreds of protesters sought justice for a Black youngster who was shot in Missouri, a US state in the Midwest.
High-profile attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, who have agreed to handle the case, said on Sunday that Ralph Paul Yarl, 16, is in serious condition after being shot twice and wounded in the head by a white man last week in Kansas City.
According to a letter from Yarl’s aunt, Faith Spoonmoore, on a GoFundMe page for his medical costs and treatment, Yarl was picking up his twin brothers from a friend’s house on Thursday when he rang the wrong doorbell and was shot by the homeowner through a glass door.
The story has received national attention and sparked outrage from celebrities and activists on the streets of Kansas City and online.
According to Kansas City public broadcaster KCUR 89.3, demonstrators gathered in front of the residence where Yarl is thought to have been shot on Sunday and requested that the owner be charged with a hate crime.
The homeowner was released from detention after spending 24 hours there, according to Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves, who also stated that no charges would be filed until the victim provided a statement.
“The information that we have now, it does not say that it’s racially motivated, that’s still an active investigation,” Graves said.
“But as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case. I do recognize and understand the community’s concern.”
Graves said police were working “as expeditiously and as thoroughly as we can”.
Police said Yarl had been transferred to the hospital with injuries described as life-threatening, according to local media.
They did not say how many times he had been shot.
“Ralph is alive. He is healing,” Spoonmore told KCUR.
On the GoFundMe page, she described Yarl as a smart and friendly kid with dreams of studying chemical engineering at university.
The suspected shooter has not been identified by the authorities.
“My heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head,” Hollywood star Halle Berry tweeted, calling on the prosecutor to press charges.
Deadly shootings are a regular occurrence in the United States, a country of around 330 million people that is awash with an estimated 400 million guns.
On Saturday in the state of Alabama, four people were killed and at least 28 others, mostly teenagers, were wounded in a shooting at a birthday party.