Kansas City Man Charged in Shooting Black Teen, Ralph Yarl

What's the story?

• Last Thursday, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot when he was trying to pick up his two younger twin brothers but got the address wrong in Kansas City, Missouri. Yarl accidentally knocked on 84-year-old Andrew Lester's door, who then shot the Black teen twice — once in the head and once in the arm.
• Yarl's father said his son was released from the hospital Sunday evening. He is expected to make a full recovery.
• The prosecutor, Zachary Thompson, said it was evident that the teen did not "cross the threshold" into Lester's home. The gunshots were fired through a glass door, and there was no indication that "any words were exchanged."

Charges against Lester

• Lester, who is white, was taken into custody by police and was released without charges on Friday. On Monday, after protests and anger spread throughout the community, Lester was then charged with assault in the first degree, a class-A felony, and could face life in prison. He was also charged with armed criminal action, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. 
• Thompson added what many know to be true:

"There was a racial component to the case."

• Lester is still not in police custody, but a warrant has since been issued for his arrest, and bail has been set at $200,000. 
• S. Lee Merritt, one of the Yarl family's lawyers, was asked whether Lester's age played a role in the case. Merritt answered:

"The fact that he's 84 years old will be a consideration in terms of what he thought. But I'll remind you the former president and current president of the United States is about that age as well."

What are they saying?

• The White House reported that President Biden spoke to Yarl on the phone and "shared his hope for a swift recovery."
• Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, who is also Black, said he is angry and heartbroken about the situation. He continued: 

"You've heard about driving while Black. You've heard about all the other issues that Black people confront in life. Can you not knock on the door while Black? It's almost like you can't exist."

• Merritt and Ben Crump, another lawyer representing Yarl, released a statement calling for the end of gun violence against unarmed Black children and adults. The statement read:

"Our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we will continue to fight for Ralph while he works toward a full recovery."

Similar circumstances: Gun violence over minor mistakes

• Just a few days after Yarl was hospitalized, a 20-year-old white woman was shot to death after pulling into the wrong driveway in upstate New York. 
• Kaylin Gillis and three friends were looking for another friend's house when they mistakenly turned their car into the wrong driveway. As they were leaving the property, Kevin Monahan came out of his residence and fired two shots at the vehicle, one of which hit Gillis. 
• Monahan, a white man who was initially uncooperative and refused to exit his home when police arrived, has been charged with murder in the second degree and is in custody at Warren County Jail. 
• After Yarl and Gillis, two young people, were met with gunshots for making inconsequential, harmless mistakes just days apart, gun control activists are demanding justice and urging U.S. leaders to pass gun reform now. 

Demand your representatives take action on gun reform now. 

-Jamie Epstein