Grandson of Andrew Lester who is charged with shooting innocent Ralph Yarl, 16, on his doorstep says ‘it should never have happened’ and reveals he ‘would get lost on those streets, they look the same’: Fundraiser for 16-year-old surges past $3million

• Andrew Lester, 84, is accused of shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in the head when the teenager mistakenly knocked on the door of his Kansas City home
• Lester handed himself in on Tuesday, and has now been released on bail: he has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action
• Lester faces life in prison if convicted: Yarl has been released from hospital and is recovering at home, with his doctors saying his survival is a miracle

Andrew Lester’s grandson said ‘it should never have happened’ as the family of the homeowner charged with shooting innocent teen Ralph Yarl break their silence for the first time.

Daniel Ludwig said he would often visit his grandfather at that house and agreed that mistaking the properties is ‘easy to do’ as ‘they all look the same’.

Talking to the Daily Beast he said: ‘I’d go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets.’

He is the first member of Lester’s family to speak after the 84-year-old white homeowner was accused of shooting Yarl twice on his doorstep after the black teenager had mistakenly gone to the wrong house.

His comments come as the GoFundMe page for gifted scholar Ralph, 16, surges past $3million.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered to Clay County’s Detention Centre in Kansas City, Missouri , on Tuesday afternoon and was released after paying 10 percent of the $200,000 bail

Lester is facing life in jail after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in relation to the shooting which saw Ralph Yarl rushed to hospital  

Lester surrendered to Clay County’s Detention Centre in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday afternoon, a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted 10 per cent of the $200,000 bail. 

Lester faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon. He does not yet have a listed attorney.

Ludwig also said he believes his grandfather felt he was in danger, a claim not backed up by any publicly available evidence to date.

‘It’s just crazy. I wish it didn’t happen,’ Ludwig said.

As a condition of his release, Lester is not allowed to possess weapons of any kind and may not have any contact with Yarl. 

The retired aircraft mechanic is facing life in jail. 

Yarl was shot twice through the door of Lester’s home, which is just a block away from the property where his younger twin brothers were waiting to be picked up. 

The suspect was first arrested and released hours after the shooting on April 14, when he told police that he was ‘scared to death’ after seeing Yarl standing at his front door. 

Zachary Thompson, Clay County prosecutor said: ‘As the prosecutor for Clay County, I can tell you that there was a racial component to the case… I don’t want to comment on specifics of the case to protect its integrity.’

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves also acknowledged the ‘racial components’ at play in the case.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Ralph was ‘shot because he was existing while black’. 

He told CNN that he ‘shared the outrage’ of residents in Kansas City over the lack of action. 

‘To pretend that race is not a part of this whole situation would be to have your head in the sand,’ he said.

‘This boy was shot because he was existing while black. And he knocked on the door of someone who clearly, clearly fears black people. 

‘Black boys, black children, and I think that that is that is clear as day and so I hope that is not mistaken or forgotten the reason why many black people and black parents – myself included – are concerned is because if one day it’s ringing on the doorbell, they can get you shot. Then, then what else is next?

‘This is normal existence in life, and somebody came to a door and shot through a door. Not once but twice. That’s what is horrifying. 

‘That’s why I think I’m glad to see this first step towards justice and why we all need to investigate how we need to investigate how we handle this and how we can do better in the future.’

Ralph was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers

Andrew Lester, 84, told Kansas City Police Department that shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, was the ‘last thing he wanted to do’ but was terrified of the teenager because of his size and age

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Ralph was ‘shot because he was existing while black’

Lester, who had a mechanical FAA licence registered to Arizona, had been free on the opinion of the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office as investigations continued. 

Kansas City Police Department on Monday submitted a file to the Prosecutor’s Office, which issued a warrant for Lester’s that evening. 

Ralph was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers.

Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged

In a probable cause affidavit, Lester told KCPD that shooting Yarl was the ‘last thing he wanted to do’ but was terrified of the teenager because of his size and age.

The document also revealed that cops discovered a Smith and Wesson .32 caliber revolver with two spent shell casings still in the cylinder after officers arrived at the scene.

Police say Yarl was shot after he knocked on the door, with Lester telling officers he saw him ‘pulling on the door handle’ – something which the teenager denies.

Yarl also told authorities that Lester told him ‘don’t come around here’ after being shot in the head and the arm through the glass at the front of the house.

Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged.

The document revealed that he was shot in the left forehead, and right arm, with a neighbor telling cops they thought it was ‘odd’ for their ‘elderly neighbor to have a visitor this late at night’.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice in the head by a white man after he approached the wrong house by mistake when going to collect his siblings

Ralph, center, was said to be trying to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house but went to the wrong address

A witness added that they heard ‘two or three gunshots’ from Lester’s home, and heard Yarl screaming that he had been shot.

Lester told officers that he felt he was ‘protecting himself’ at the property where he says he lives alone.

MISSOURI ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’ LAWS

Missouri is one of twenty US states which has stand-your-ground laws, which removes the duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense.

The law permits homeowners to protect themselves, or a third party (with exceptions) with deadly force should a person feel it is necessary.

According to Missouri Revised Statutes 563.031 residents must be faced with a threat before shooting trespassers on the property.

It states: ‘[Protective] force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle lawfully occupied by such person.’

‘Stand-your-ground’ laws roughly define how an individual can defend themselves when faced with an imminent threat anywhere else; imminent being a keyword here because even threatening words towards a defending person can lead to a justified homicide.

He also claimed that he called 911 after the shooting, claiming that Yarl ‘ran away’ after the incident.

The statement shows that he was ‘visibly upset’ and ‘repeatedly expressed concern’ for Yarl during the interview. 

He said he ‘believed he was protecting himself from a physical confrontation and could not take the chance of the male coming in’.

Yarl told officers that he pressed the doorbell and waited outside of the door, adding that the man inside ‘took a long time but finally opened the door holding a firearm.’

Officers took a hard drive from Lester’s home to preserve video, but the video system was ‘no longer functional’. 

Lester’s home had signs warning trespassers and unwelcomed visitors, though it is unclear if Yarl saw any of them before approaching the property.

The doorbell had a small ‘no solicitors’ sign on top while another sign claimed the property was ‘protected by surveillance cameras’. 

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced the two felony charges on Monday, and confirmed that there was a ‘racial component’ to the case, but would not elaborate further.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family, added that Yarl’s legal team was not aware of what the ‘racial element’ of the case was which was announced by Clay County Prosecutors office on Monday night.

He said: ‘It’s a white shooter and a black boy. The man in his 80s went home and slept in his bed that night. But I’m not sure what the prosecutor was referring to exactly.’

Ralph’s mother told CBS News that her son was waiting for a hug from his twin brothers but instead ‘got a couple of bullets’.

A talented bass clarinet player, Ralph also leads a section of his school’s marching band and plays multiple instruments in the Northland Symphony Youth Orchestra

The house in Kansas City, Missouri had a ‘no solicitors’ sign on top of the doorbell which Ralph mistakenly rang

READ MORE – ‘We are coming for justice’: Ralph Yarl donations soar as white shooter’s house is surrounded and black teenager fights for life in critical condition

Yarl is said to be recovering, but his mother said he mostly ‘just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes’.

She said that the bullet in his arm was not removed for 12 hours, and that the residual effect of the injury is going to stay with him for ‘quite a while’.

President Joe Biden rang the Yarl family on Monday, and invited them to the White House when Ralph is well enough.

Yarl’s mother revealed that they spoke about music, with the president saying that if his family had to rely on his musical skills then they would ‘die hungry’ – and the teen quipping that Biden ‘had jokes’. 

Crump added that it was a tragedy it had taken the prosecutor so long to charge Lester, saying: ‘I think it is appropriate, you can’t send a message to society that it’s okay to shoot black people in the head just for ringing your doorbell.

‘Gun violence against unarmed black individuals must stop. 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 towards a full recovery.’

Thompson, asked why Lester was not charged with attempted murder, said they had decided to charge him with an ‘A felony’ because it was the most serious crime.

Lester was taken in for questioning immediately after the shooting, but was released two hours after he was arrested – without any charges.

Police took a statement from Ralph in hospital last Friday before he was released on Monday, to continue to recover at home with his mother – who is a nurse.

President Joe Biden rang the Yarl family on Monday, and invited them to the White House when Ralph is well enough

The property also had a sign claiming it was ‘protected by surveillance cameras’

Cleo Nagbe, with attorney Lee Merritt,  said that her son Ralph Yarl is able to communicate ‘when he feels like it’

‘He continues to improve. He’s responsive and he’s making good progress,’ said his father, Paul. 

Celebrities have been quick to support the teenager, actresses Viola Davis, Jennifer Hudson and Halle Berry calling for justice.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he hopes ‘the justice system does right by him.’

Jennifer Aniston called on her followers to demand ‘an immediate arrest’ of the shooter.

She also posted the prosecutor’s contact address and said: ‘Use the contact information below to demand Prosecutor Zachary Thompson make an immediate arrest and bring the appropriate charges.’

Her comment comes as a GoFundMe fundraiser set up by Yarl’s aunt has raised more than $2.7million for the teenager just one day after it was created.

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