White man accused of shooting Black teen who rang wrong doorbell faces 2 felony charges

An arrest warrant was issued early Monday evening for the man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who rang the doorbell to a home where he believed he was to pick up his two siblings.

Clay County, Mo., prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that the suspect, Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, faces two felony counts, including assault in the first degree and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting. The assault charge is a grade A felony, the highest level in the state, which carries a sentence of 10-30 years, or life imprisonment, upon conviction. Officials said that Lester fired his gun through the glass door and shot Ralph twice even though the teenager did not attempt to enter the home and no words were exchanged between the two.

“There was a racial component to the case,” Thompson said.

The announcement of the arrest warrant followed four days of mounting frustration and anger expressed by Ralph’s family and loved ones who demanded that the shooter be held accountable.

On Monday, family attorney Ben Crump called the charges “appropriate,” but stressed his belief that Lester deserved to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“They let this white man go, who shot this 16-year-old teenager who only pushed his doorbell and they questioned him for 20 minutes and let him come home and sleep in his bed at night,” Crump told Yahoo News shortly after the warrant announcement. “Had the roles been reversed — had a Black man shot a 16-year-old white citizen — [nobody would] believe they would’ve let him come home and sleep without him being arrested and processed.”

Crump added that Ralph and his family had received a call from President Biden early Monday evening. In a statement, Crump said Biden offered his prayers for Ralph’s recovery and for justice in the case.

After suffering one gunshot wound to the head and another to the arm, Ralph spent three days in the hospital before being released Sunday, Ralph's father, Paul Yarl, told the Kansas City Star.

“He continues to improve,” Yarl said. “He’s responsive and he’s making good progress.”

Tensions in Kansas City have continued to rise in recent days. Over the weekend dozens of community members gathered in front of the home of the alleged gunman for a demonstration, many periodically chanting, “Stand up, fight back!”

The Kansas City Police Department told Yahoo News that while details about the investigation were unavailable to the press due to the so-called Missouri Sunshine Law, they were working “as quickly as possible to submit a complete case file to the Clay County Prosecutor's Office.”

“Circumstances of violent crime vary depending on innumerable variables,” KCPD spokesman Corey Carlisle said in an email. “The police department doesn’t file charges, that is up to the county prosecutor to determine charges in felony violent crime cases.”

The shooting

Officers arrived at Lester’s home on April 13 just before 10 p.m. after receiving a report that shots had been fired. When they arrived, they said, they found Ralph, who had been shot twice, and he was transported to a local hospital. KCPD Chief Stacey Graves said Sunday that the homeowner was placed under a 24-hour investigation hold following the shooting, but was released pending further investigation.

Police later learned that Ralph’s parents had asked him to pick up his twin siblings from a home located at Northeast 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to a home on Northeast 115th Street, which was one block away. Ralph had no phone with him at the time.

Faith Spoonmore, who identified herself as Ralph’s aunt on a GoFundMe account set up for the teen, claimed the homeowner opened the door and shot Ralph in the head. And after Ralph fell, “the man shot him again,” she said. Once alert, Ralph was able to get up and run to a nearby home to get help.

The online fundraiser set up by Spoonmore raised more than $1.8 million in less than 24 hours. The funds, she says, will be used to cover Yarl’s medical bills, therapy and college expenses.

Social media reactions

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, expressed anger in a statement over how the incident had played out.

“Tonight, millions of Black parents across America are going to have The Talk again, this time adding another item to the list: don’t ring the wrong doorbell,” Johnson said Monday.

Crump said that despite Ralph’s release from the hospital, he still has a long road ahead of him.

“He's going to miss quite a significant amount of time from school, but everybody's praying that he can make a full recovery,” Crump said. “It's a miracle that he's home.”

The shooting has angered people across the country, many of whom flocked to social media to express their feelings. Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry wrote that her heart “completely broke” after learning of what happened to Ralph.

“This innocent child is now fighting for his life,” Berry tweeted late Sunday and posted to her Instagram, urging more than 9 million of her followers to “demand an immediate arrest and bring the appropriate charges” to the shooter.

Bernice King, daughter of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., echoed calls for justice in the hopes to “prevent these tragedies.”

“Let’s be for justice, which is a continuum,” King tweeted Sunday evening.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire shared his own dismay, tweeting, “Can’t even ring doorbells out here,” along with the hashtag Ralph Yarl.

Ralph’s ‘contagious’ smile

According to the GoFundMe page, Ralph is the section leader of his high school marching band. He had looked forward to graduating high school and visiting West Africa before starting college.

Christopher Wilson, Ralph’s third grade teacher at Hawthorn Elementary, recalled the teen as a joy to have in class. Nearly a decade ago, he had won the school’s top citizenship award, Wilson said, which was voted on by the class.

“He was a quiet student, but kind, very bright and a friend to everyone,” Wilson told Yahoo News. “His smile is still just as contagious.”

Cover thumbnail: Courtesy of the Yarl family