Man Charged With Shooting Black Kansas City Teen Who Went To Wrong House

On Monday evening, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson announced that Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old White homeowner, would be charged with two felonies for allegedly shooting and injuring Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager.

Yarl had gone to the wrong home to pick up his siblings. The charges against Lester include assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. A warrant has been issued for Lester's arrest, but he is currently not in custody.

“I can tell you there was a racial component to this case,” Thompson said at a news conference without elaborating.

The prosecutor stated that adding hate crime charges against Lester may result in double jeopardy since Missouri considers hate crimes as a lower level of felony. Furthermore, the probable cause document released on Monday did not offer any insight into why authorities suspect that race was a factor in the incident.

According to the prosecutor, there is no evidence to suggest that Lester and Ralph had any interaction before the shooting occurred on Thursday evening. It was also noted that there is no indication that the teenager entered the house. The initial evidence shows that Lester used a .32 caliber revolver to shoot the teen through a glass door. Unfortunately, there is no available footage of the incident.

According to a statement from family attorney Ben Crump, "Although this is a positive development, we will persist in advocating for Ralph as he strives towards a complete recovery."

According to two representatives at the Kansas City Police Department detention unit who spoke with CNN, the suspect was apprehended on April 13 shortly before midnight and subsequently released less than two hours later at 1:24 a.m. on April 14.

Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson explained that Lester was only held for a few hours following his initial arrest since the police acknowledged that additional investigative work was required. Although Thompson initially stated that Lester was 85 years old, a probable cause document obtained by CNN reveals that he is actually 84 years old.

The probable cause statement revealed that Lester informed investigators that he was extremely fearful of Yarl's size and his inability to defend himself at the age of 84. Lester said he was in bed when he heard the doorbell ringing and, in response, grabbed a handgun before answering the door.

The police detective wrote in the court document that Lester believed that someone was attempting to break into his house, and fired two shots through an exterior storm door within seconds of opening the main door. Following the shooting, Lester expressed concern for Ralph on numerous occasions, according to the statement.

Police received reports of a shooting on April 13, shortly before 10 p.m., and promptly responded to the scene. They discovered Ralph, 16, who had been shot outside a home by a homeowner. The victim's family and the police have confirmed that Ralph had gone to the wrong address and confused 115th Terrace with 115th Street.

According to the probable cause statement, Ralph recounted to a detective who visited him in the hospital on Friday that he had rung the doorbell and waited for a response.

As per the probable cause statement, Ralph sustained two gunshot wounds, with one bullet hitting him in the left forehead and the other in his right arm.

A neighbor who was interviewed by CNN reported that they were asleep at the time of the shooting and didn't hear it. However, once they were awake, they saw the victim lying on the street surrounded by a few neighbors.

Although the teenager has been discharged from the hospital, he is still struggling after the traumatic experience, as per Crump's statement on CNN on Monday afternoon. Crump further stated that Ralph and his family are grateful that he survived despite being shot in the head. They are hopeful for a complete recovery because Ralph is young and strong.

"He's not yet out of the woods, but the good news is that (medical officials) deemed him stable enough to go home," Crump told Jake Tapper on CNN.

At the time of Crump's interview with Tapper, the prosecutor had not yet announced the charges, and Crump expressed confusion as to why the shooter had not been arrested on the night of the shooting.

A GoFundMe started by Ralph’s aunt, Faith Spoonmore, to help the family raise money for medical expenses had garnered more than $2.3 million in donations by Monday evening.

Ralph had been looking forward to graduating from high school and visiting West Africa before starting college, his aunt wrote in the fundraiser.

An anonymous neighbor revealed to CNN that she was the one who called 911 after Ralph came to her door bleeding from his injuries. The emergency operator instructed her to stay inside her home as the shooter's whereabouts were unknown.

The woman initially complied but eventually went outside with towels to help suppress the bleeding. She kneeled down next to Ralph and asked him his name and who shot him. 

Ralph explained that he was supposed to pick up his brothers but went to the wrong street, which the neighbor believes is no excuse for what happened. She was shocked and disturbed by the sight of blood on her door and railing, saying "That was someone's child's blood. I'm a mom...this is not OK."

Despite his injuries to the left side of his head and right arm, the neighbor said Ralph was very alert and spoke about being on the high school track team and playing the bass clarinet in band. She described him as a very strong and brave young man.