Ralph Yarl – update: Andrew Lester’s family ‘disgusted’ by shooting as stand your ground laws in spotlight
Ralph Yarl’s recovery continues at home in Kansas City while a GoFundMe to help pay his medical bills has now topped $3.4m
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The family of suspected shooter Andrew Lester have said they are “disgusted” by the 84-year-old’s shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl.
Mr Lester’s grandson Klint Ludwig told CNN that “myself and my family stand with Ralph Yarl and seeking justice”.
“This is a horrible tragedy, it never should have happened,” he said.
Mr Ludwig also revealed details about his grandfather’s “racist comments” and interest in “QAnon-level conspiracy theories” prior to the 13 April shooting.
The 84-year-old is accused of shooting Ralph, 16, twice through the glass screen door of his home in Kansas City, Missouri, when the Black teenager accidentally called at the wrong home to pick up his brothers.
Ralph’s recovery is still ongoing, with attorney Lee Merritt sharing a photo of him back at home following his release from hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr Lester appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to two felonies.
The shooting has led to protests and an outpouring of support for Ralph from celebrities and donors to a GoFundMe campaign, as the incident casts a renewed spotlight on America’s “stand your ground” laws and whether they help to fuel random shootings and racism.
‘License to kill’: How ‘Stand Your Ground’ gun laws are fuelling random shootings and racism across the US
Andrew Lester: What we know about white homeowner charged with shooting Ralph Yarl
Ralph Yarl rang the wrong doorbell and was shot by Andrew Lester. These key questions remain unanswered
What we know about the shooting of Black teen who went to wrong house: ‘Ringing a doorbell is not a crime’
Andrew Lester’s family ‘disgusted’ by shooting: ‘We stand with Ralph Yarl’
ICYMI: Ralph Yarl GoFundMe tops $3.2m after Black teen shot in the head by white homeowner
A GoFundMe campaign launched to support a Black teenager who was shot in the head by a white homeowner when he accidentally went to the wrong address has soared past $3.2m in donations.
Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old high school junior, was shot twice last Thursday when he went to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house on 13 April.
Kansas City Police said that Ralph had gone to collect his siblings from a friend’s house on 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri, but got muddled up with the address and accidentally went to a home on 115th Street by mistake.
Report:
Ralph Yarl GoFundMe tops $3.2m after Black teen shot for ringing doorbell
Donations have been flooding in to help Ralph Yarl and his family pay for his medical bills and recovery after Kansas City shooting
Andrew Lester’s ex-wife reveals why she isn’t surprised by shooting
Andrew Lester’s ex-wife has broken her silence to reveal why she isn’t surprised that the white homeowner shot Black teenager Ralph Yarl last week.
Mary Clayton, who was married to Mr Lester when she was young and had three children with him, told The New York Times she “was always scared of him”.
During their 14-year marriage, she said he had anger issues and would smash up their home. She called the police at least once over his rages but she said nothing was done.
“It doesn’t surprise me, what happened,” she said of the shooting.
White House decries Ralph Yarl shooting as part of ‘epidemic’ of gun violence
The White House on Tuesday decried the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl as the latest in an “epidemic” of gun violence that appears to be continuing unabated across the United States.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the attack on the Missouri teenager, who was shot once in the head and once in the arm after ringing the wrong doorbell over the weekend, “devastating” and lamented the sheer number of such events that she has had to address from the briefing room.
“It ... feels like every week, at least once a week, I come to the podium and I talk about this gun violence epidemic that we’re seeing across the country, and how our communities and families across America, yet again, have been devastated by tragic acts of gun violence. And it is not just devastating for me, I’m sure it’s devastating for all of you and your families. It’s devastating for this President, its devastating for our administration ... to have to continue to do that over and over again,” she said.
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg has more:
White House decries Ralph Yarl shooting as part of ‘epidemic’ of gun violence
The White House on Tuesday decried the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl as the latest in an “epidemic” of gun violence that appears to be continuing unabated across the United States.
PICTURED: Andrew Lester’s first court appearance
GoFundMe for Ralph Yarl tops $3.35m
A GoFundMe campaign launched to support a Black teenager who was shot in the head by a white homeowner when he accidentally went to the wrong address has soared past $3.3m in donations.
Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old high school junior, was shot twice last Thursday when he went to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house on 13 April.
Donations have been flooding in on a GoFundMe campaign, set up to help pay for the boy’s recovery.
As of around 9am ET on Thursday – just two days after its launch – a staggering $3.35m had been raised.
Andrew Lester made disparaging comments about Black people, says relative
Andrew Lester’s estranged grandson has revealed that he has heard the 84-year-old make disparaging comments about Black people in the past.
Grandson Klint Ludwig told The New York Times that he was estranged from his grandfather because of the 84-year-old’s right-wing views.
He said his grandfather would make disparaging comments about Black people, gay people, and immigrants – and kept a large number of guns in his home.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Lester then shared a “crazy” conspiracy theory about Dr Anthony Fauci.
Another relative, who did not want to be named, said Mr Lester spent “considerable time at home in a living room chair, watching conservative news programs at high volume”.
Suspect’s family ‘disgusted’ by Ralph Yarl shooting
The family of suspected shooter Andrew Lester is said to be “disgusted” by the 84-year-old’s shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl.
Mr Lester’s grandson Klint Ludwig spoke to CNN about his reaction when he learned his grandfather was responsible for the shooting that has shocked the nation and led to calls for justice.
“I was disgusted. I thought it was terrible,” he said.
“Myself and my family stand with Ralph Yarl and seeking justice. This is a horrible tragedy, it never should have happened.”
Mr Ludwig, who said he is estranged from his grandfather over the 84-year-old’s right-wing views, said he was speaking out because it was the “right thing to do”.
“[In] yths country, it happens over and over again where people get away with killing unarmed, innocent Black people… people need to speak out and not make any excuses for this kind of behaviour and this violence,” he said.
Andrew Lester’s grandson reveals grandfather’s ‘racist comments’ and interest in ‘QAnon’
Andrew Lester’s grandson has revealed new details about his grandfather’s “racist comments” and interest in “QAnon-level conspiracy theories”.
Klint Ludwig told CNN that the 84-year-old “holds racist tendencies and beliefs” and has bought into “conspiracies and weird random, racist things”.
“A lot of it was like the QAnon-level conspiracies of election denying and he got really weird about some Fauci dogs... And I would push back on some of that stuff and he couldn’t handle being pushed back on and at a certain point we kind fof lost touch and I think it was more his choice than mine,” he said.
He said that his grandfather has made offensive comments about minorities in the past and “had a hot take about abortion and about Black women having abortions”.
Andrew Lester: What we know about white homeowner charged with shooting Ralph Yarl
Black teenager Ralph Yarl was shot by a white homeowner after he accidentally rang the doorbell at the wrong house while going to collect his brothers.
The 16-year-old accidental visit to Andrew Lester’s home in the Northland suburb of Kansas City quickly turned violent and the high school student was left hospitalised with serious injuries.
Instead of going to a home in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his brothers, he mistakenly went to Northeast 115th Street, police said.
Now prosecutors have brought charges against the homeowner.
Here is everything we know about the suspect:
Andrew Lester’s family attributes beliefs to right-wing news cycle
Suspected shooter Andrew Lester’s grandson has revealed new details about his grandfather’s “racist comments” and conspiracy theories.
Mr Lester’s grandson Klint Ludwig told CNN he believes that his grandfather is “scared”, in part because of “this 24 hour news cycle of fear and paranoia”.
“I feel like a lot of people of that generation are caught up in this 24 hour news cycle of fear and paranoia perpetuated by some other news stations,” he told Don Lemon.
“He would sit and watch Fox News all day every day blaring in his living room.
“I think that stuff really reinforces that negative view of minority groups and leads people – it doesn’t necessarily lead people to be racist, but it reinforces and galvanises racist people in their beliefs.”