KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 84-year-old Kansas City man who shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl admitted to Kansas City detectives that he opened fire “within a few seconds” of seeing the Black teen on his Northland doorstep, according to charging documents filed in Clay County on Monday.
The man, Andrew D. Lester, who is white, allegedly told police he feared for his safety when he answered the door and saw Yarl there. The teenager, an honor student at Staley High School, accidentally went to the wrong house while trying to pick up his younger brothers and was shot in the head after ringing the doorbell.
The case quickly caught national attention as celebrities and politicians — from Grammy award winner Jennifer Hudson to President Joe Biden — have weighed in on the shooting. Many have raised concerns about the shooting being racially motivated, and voiced outrage over gun violence and inequality in the criminal system.
