An 84-year-old white man from Kansas City, Missouri, has been charged with first-degree assault for shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly went to the man’s home to pick up his younger brothers. Andrew Lester shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl twice in the forehead and then in the right forearm, with nothing exchanged between them before the shooting. Yarl is recovering at home after being released from the hospital, but the incident has outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders, including President Joe Biden, demanded justice. Yarl’s supporters plan to hold a rally on Tuesday evening in Kansas City.
The shooting has a racial component, according to Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson. However, nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated. Thompson clarified that Missouri’s statute is considered a lesser felony than first-degree assault and carries a less severe penalty. Lester was also charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison, but not with a hate crime.
Yarl, an honor student and all-state band member, was supposed to pick up his two younger brothers when he approached the wrong house at roughly 10 p.m. Lester came to the door and shot Yarl twice, then yelled, “Don’t come around here,” as Yarl got up to run. Yarl ran to “multiple” homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police.
Missouri is among roughly 30 states with “Stand Your Ground” laws, which allow for the use of deadly force in self-defense, but the prosecutor determined the shooting was not in self-defense. An arrest warrant was issued, but Lester was not yet in custody. Lester told police that he lives alone and had just gone to bed when he heard his doorbell. He said he picked up his gun and went to the door, where he saw a Black male pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought someone was breaking in.
The shooting happened in a middle-class neighborhood in north Kansas City. Yarl didn’t have a phone with him and went to the wrong block. By Monday afternoon, $1.4 million had been raised on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay medical bills. Yarl is “doing well physically” but has a lot of trauma to overcome emotionally, according to his aunt, Faith Spoonmore.
In another unrelated incident two days after Yarl was shot, a 20-year-old woman was killed by a homeowner in Upstate New York Saturday after the car she was in drove to the wrong address. The driver was looking for a friend’s house when the incident occurred. Kevin Monahan, the homeowner, was charged with second-degree murder.
The incident in Kansas City has once again raised questions about race and gun violence in America, particularly in the wake of recent high-profile cases like the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery and the trial of Derek Chauvin. Yarl’s shooting has sparked protests and calls for justice, with many activists and leaders demanding that Lester be charged with a hate crime.
However, as noted by Prosecutor Zachary Thompson, there is nothing in the charging documents to suggest that the shooting was racially motivated. The fact that the shooter is an 84-year-old white man and the victim is a 16-year-old Black boy has nevertheless led to speculation about the role of racism in the incident.
The shooting also highlights the controversial “Stand Your Ground” laws that exist in many states, including Missouri. While these laws are intended to allow individuals to defend themselves in dangerous situations, critics argue that they can also provide a legal justification for unnecessary or excessive violence. In this case, the prosecutor determined that Lester’s actions were not in self-defense.
Yarl’s family and supporters have called for an end to gun violence against unarmed Black individuals, with civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt saying that “our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted.” A rally in support of Yarl was planned for Tuesday evening in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, a 20-year-old woman was killed by a homeowner in Upstate New York on Saturday after the car she was in drove to the wrong address. The driver was looking for a friend’s house when the incident occurred. The homeowner, Kevin Monahan, was charged with second-degree murder.
The incidents in Kansas City and Upstate New York highlight the need for greater accountability and responsibility when it comes to gun ownership and use in America. As the debate over gun violence and race continues, many are calling for changes to be made to the legal and cultural frameworks that enable and perpetuate violence against Black individuals.
