KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A 16-year-old shot twice after ringing the doorbell at the wrong home is recovering, but has a long road ahead of him. Attorneys for the family of Ralph Yarl said he suffered a brain injury in the shooting.
Kansas City police say Yarl was picking up his younger brothers from a friend’s house Thursday night when he accidentally went to the wrong address. He rang the doorbell and was shot by Andrew Lester. Police charged Lester with two felonies, and also indicated that there is a racial component to this case. Yarl is Black, Lester is white.
The 84-year-old homeowner said he feared the teen was breaking in, and that’s why he shot him. “I doubt Ralph is even 170 pounds. Ralph is not even 6 foot,” Yarl’s aunt, Faith Spoonmore said. “When you see Ralph in all of the pictures that you have seen on social media and everywhere else, I don’t see how you see fear. I don’t know how you can see fear when you look at that kid.”
Monday night, after a national outcry police arrested Andrew Lester, charged him with felony assault and armed criminal action. He bonded out two hours later. But Lester turned himself in to Clay County Sheriff’s Office in a Kansas City suburb and is back in custody Tuesday afternoon.
“Homeowners have the right to protect themselves and their property,” News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Lakesha Burton said. “So, the question is what did this young man do to create such a fear that would cause that type of reaction?”
Burton is a retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer and supervisor for nearly 25 years. She said this case is disturbing.
“What stood out to me was the fact that the suspect admitted that he saw a black guy, he was in fear, and he began to shoot through the door,” Burton said.
Florida, Georgia and Missouri have what is called the Castle Doctrine, a self-defense law that allows people to have the right to protect their homes with deadly force if there’s an intruder. But, there must be trespassing and proof of fear. Burton said in this case, there’s no evidence that the teen did anything to threaten the homeowner.
“I think everything that happens is a lesson for all of us, but definitely those who are legal gun owners to be responsible,” Burton said. “I think this individual could have taken more steps to prevent this from happening. Sometimes people have cameras, they can look at the camera to see who is on the other side of the door or just take the time to say, ‘Who is it? What do you need?’”
This isn’t the only recent case of this kind. On Saturday night, in upstate New York, a homeowner shot and killed Kaylin Gillis, 20, after her friend drove into his driveway accidentally and was turning around. Kevin Monahan, 65, is charged with murder.