An African-American teenager from Missouri was shot and seriously injured by a homeowner when he knocked on his door to pick up his siblings, not realizing he had gone to the wrong address.

Ralph Earl, 16, is recovering in hospital where he was taken with head and arm injuries. The incident took place last Thursday, around 10pm, according to the police and his family’s lawyers.

Hundreds of protesters gathered Sunday outside the home where the 16-year-old was shot, chanting “Black Lives Matter.” In Missouri state law allows property owners to use force to defend themselves against “suspected” intruders.

The teenager’s parents had asked him to pick up his twin brothers from a home in Kansas City. Ralph made a mistake and instead of going to 115th Terrace he went to another residence, on 115th Street.

The homeowner, whose identity has not been released, was taken into custody for 24 hours and then released until Yarl can testify and evidence from the tag can be collected, Kansas State Police Sgt. City, Stacey Graves.

Lawyers for the Jarl family said in a statement that the boy was shot by a white man and asked Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to take action to “identify, arrest and prosecute (…) the man responsible for this horrific and unjustified shooting.”

When asked if the shooting might have been racially motivated, Graves said the information she had did not confirm that, although she was aware of the “racial overtones” of the case.

Under state law, a person may not use deadly force unless they have reason to believe it is necessary to protect themselves or another person threatened with death, serious injury, or a violent crime.