Ralph Yarl Shooting: Suspect Surrenders, Released on Bond

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Facts

  • On Tuesday, 84-year-old Andrew Lester of Clay County, Mo., who was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Black teenager Ralph Yarl, 16, surrendered to the county detention center and was freed on a $200K bond a few hours later, according to the Sheriff's Office.1
  • He was initially taken into custody and released on Thursday — the night of the shooting — prompting demonstrations across Kansas City and some to draw similarities between the shooting and those of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, also young Black men.2
  • Lester, who shot Yarl after the teen rang his doorbell thinking it was the house where he was supposed to pick up his siblings, faces up to 15 years in prison for armed criminal action and life imprisonment for first-degree assault.1
  • Yarl — a member of the Technology Student Association, Science Olympia Team, and a student leader of the marching band — was released from the hospital Sunday and is recovering from his injuries at home.3
  • While Missouri homeowners in reasonable fear of "unlawful force" are allowed to use deadly force in self-defense, Prof. Daniel Webster of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy said "stand your ground" laws are complicated and that a justification of "I felt threatened" is not enough on its own to allow for lethal force.4
  • Yarl's attorneys are asking why Lester wasn't immediately arrested and charged with attempted murder, with the CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, Gwen Grant, saying the group will call for a federal hate crime investigation. A GoFundMe account has also raised $2.8M to pay for Yarl's medical and legal costs.5

Sources: 1Reuters, 2The Telegraph, 3FOX News, 4Washington Post, and 5Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by Guardian. This despicable act was clearly racially motivated, and it's right that so many activists are demanding justice over this attempted murder. Ringing a doorbell isn't a crime and the unnecessary force used against this unarmed minor is a testament to the threat faced every day by Black Americans. The fact that law enforcement originally released Lester without charge is an insult to Yarl's suffering and that of his family.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Newsweek. What many Americans may not know is that 20-year-old White woman Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed in New York under very similar circumstances and within 48 hours of the Ralph Yarl shooting. The only difference is that the entire country erupted over Yarl's injuries and Pres. Biden invited him to the White House while Gillis's death went largely ignored. There is a double standard in America, but not the one being portrayed by the media.