Family of black teen Ralph Yarl sues white homeowner who shot him when he accidentally rang the wrong doorbell

The family of a black teenager who was shot and seriously injured last year when he accidentally knocked on the wrong door has filed a civil lawsuit against the gunman in Missouri.

The complaint, filed by Ralph Yarl’s mother, names Andrew Lester — the shooter — and the Highland Acres Lakeside Heights Homeowners Association in Kansas City as defendants.

The complaint alleges that the HOA’s “carelessness” and “negligence” caused Yarl to “suffer permanent injuries.”

Yarl was shot in the head and right arm after arriving at the wrong address to pick up his twin brothers from a friend’s house. Lester said he believed someone was trying to break into his home.

The family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, told ABC7 that the young man is “an anomaly to me” because even after the shooting he “doesn’t carry hatred in his heart.”

“He has a strong sense of justice and he wants us to continue pursuing justice for him,” he added.

Lester’s attorney has not yet responded to the lawsuit, which was filed ahead of his client’s criminal trial, which is set to begin in October.

After the shooting last April, the 85-year-old homeowner was charged with one felony count of first-degree assault and one misdemeanor count of armed criminal action.

The senior citizen pleaded not guilty and was released on $200,000 bond.

Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, says the “trauma” is only now “catching up” with her son, who initially tried to “minimise” the severity of what happened to him.

The civil suit does not allege that Lester shot Yarl out of “racial animus,” but Merritt points out that “a young black boy living in Kansas City, Missouri, should be able to knock on the wrong door and move freely through his home should be able to move. community without fear that he will be criminalized and violently attacked.”

Lester, reading the lawsuit, was careless and negligent in his failure to properly communicate and/or warn Yarl before firing a gun at him. He also allegedly failed to inquire why Yarl was there and provided assistance after Yarl was shot.

Yarl, who turns 18 in May, suffered a traumatic brain injury in the shooting, and the recovery, his mother says, is taking “a very long time” and is “still ongoing.”

Since his injury, she says, her son has struggled with academics in a way he never had before the shooting.

‘That’s why I feel sorry for him. But he doesn’t see that there has been a shift in his mental capacity. It’s not that he’s any less smarter, it’s just that when the brain wants to heal, the brain wants to heal. It focuses everything on that healing,” she said.

Andrew Lester, 85, will face the civil suit brought by Yarl’s family, in addition to the criminal trial he faces, which is set to begin in October.

Lester’s property in Kansas City, in front of which Yarl was shot twice

The suit was filed on behalf of Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe (pictured right), who says her son is now having trouble with schoolwork in a way he never had before the shooting.

Yarl will go to university next year, where he wants to study engineering. He has also been passionate about music for years, learning to play bass clarinet and being selected to the 2024 Missouri All-State Band.

Nagbe added that her son would rather be “seen for his achievements” than for being the child shot on April 13, 2023.

Yarl will go to university next year, where he wants to study engineering. He has also been passionate about music for years, learning to play bass clarinet and being selected to the 2024 Missouri All-State Band.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday, the teen suffered permanent injuries, endured pain and suffering of a temporary and permanent nature, experienced disabilities and losses of normal life activities, and was required to spend large sums of money on medical care and attention . and suffered other losses and damages.”

The family is seeking monetary compensation that “exceeds the jurisdictional limits of this Court,” in addition to legal fees.