Biden speaks to Ralph Yarl — black teen shot on stoop of wrong house

President Biden on Monday spoke to the Kansas City teenager who was shot after he rang the wrong doorbell and wished him a “swift recovery,” the White House said.

Biden talked to 16-year-old Ralph Yarl and his family on the phone and “offered his prayers for Ralph’s health and justice,” the boy’s lawyers said.

The high schooler is currently recovering at home after he miraculously survived being shot in the head when he mistakenly rang the doorbell of a house where he believed he was supposed to pick up his younger twin brothers on Thursday.

Prosecutors said the homeowner Andrew Lester, 84, shot the teenager twice through the glass of his door.

Lester was charged with felony assault in the first degree and armed criminal action Monday and could spend the rest of his life in prison, the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office announced just after the presidential call.

Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said investigators believe there was “a racial component” in the shooting, but didn’t elaborate.

Lester, who is white, allegedly shot the black teen once in the head and once in the arm with a 32-caliber revolver.

He faces 10 to 30 years behind bars or life in prison if convicted.

Bond was set for $200,000.

Yarl’s family attorney told NBC News’ Tom Llamas that the teen was “on cloud nine” after speaking to the president, who he said invited him to the White House.

“Ralph just got off the phone with the president of the United States tonight,” the lawyer Lee Merritt said.

“So he has had a whirlwind of a week. Thursday he was confronted with deadly force and shot in his head and he recovered, was released from the hospital on Saturday in stable condition… And like I said he had a chance to speak with the White House and the President of the United States and get some direct encouragement.”

Merritt said Biden also chatted with the high schooler about his musical talents. Yarl was described by family members as “one of the top base clarinet players in Missouri.”

The president told Yarl that his father had played the clarinet as well.

Yarl plays on his school’s jazz and competition band and recently earned Missouri All-State Band recognition with an honorable mention, according to his aunt.

“Ralph can often be found with a musical instrument. He loves them all,” his aunt Faith Spoonmore wrote on a GoFundMe page she created for her nephew’s medical care.

Vice President Kamala Harris also addressed the senseless violence in a Monday night tweet and offered her prayers to Yarl as he recovers.

“Let’s be clear: No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell.
Every child deserves to be safe. That’s the America we are fighting for,” Harris wrote on Twitter.

Yarl’s attorneys praised the prosecutor’s office for filing charges against Lester Monday after slamming authorities a day earlier for failing to immediately arrest the shooter.

“While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we will continue to fight for Ralph while he works towards a full recovery.