Family of Black teen shot in head after ringing doorbell of wrong home sues gunman and HOA
By Eric Levenson and Andy Rose, CNN
(CNN) — The family of the Black teenager who was shot in the head after ringing the doorbell of the wrong home in Kansas City, Missouri, last year, filed a lawsuit Monday on his behalf against the White man who shot him and the residential homeowners association where the house is located.
The seven-page lawsuit, filed by Ralph’s mother Cleopatra Nagbe in the circuit court of Clay County, Missouri, accuses Andrew Lester, the shooter, and the Highland Acres Homes Association, Inc. of “careless and negligent conduct.”
“At all times relevant, Plaintiff (Ralph Yarl) never posed or issued a threat to Defendant, Andrew Lester,” the lawsuit states, adding the Highland Acres Homes Association “was aware of or should have been aware of Defendant, Andrew Lester’s, propensity for violence, access to dangerous weapons and racial animus.”
CNN reached out to Lester’s attorney and to the homeowners association Monday for comment.
Lester, 85, has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He is out on bond, and his trial is set to begin October 7.
The shooting on April 13, 2023, stemmed from a simple mistake when Ralph, now 17, went to the wrong home while trying to pick up his younger siblings. After ringing the doorbell, Ralph was shot in the head and arm.
The racial dynamics of the incident raised scrutiny of whether anti-Black racism played a role in the shooting. Further, the shooting was among a spate of cases involving young people shot or killed after mistakenly going to the wrong house, the wrong driveway or the wrong car.
Lester was detained the night of the shooting but released two hours later. After a public outcry, he was arrested and charged nearly a week later.
Lester told police he opened fire through a locked glass door after he answered the doorbell and saw Ralph pulling on an exterior door handle, according to the probable cause document obtained by CNN. He also told police he didn’t exchange words with the teen before he fired, according to the document.
Lester said he was “scared to death” due to the boy’s size, according to court documents. His family said Ralph stood 5-foot-8-inches and weighed just 140 pounds.
And Ralph said he never pulled on the door. He said he rang the doorbell and waited a while before a man eventually opened the door and immediately shot him in the head, according to the document. While he was still on the ground, Ralph told police, the gunman fired again and shot him in the arm.
The teenager survived with serious injuries. Those close to the family said he had a prognosis of a full recovery, though with the possibility of long-term brain issues.
According to the civil lawsuit, the teenager “suffered and sustained permanent injuries, endured pain and suffering of a temporary and permanent nature, experienced disability and losses of normal life activities, was obligated to spend large sums of money for medical and attention and suffered other losses and damages.”
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CNN’s Holly Yan and Virginia Langmaid contributed to this report.
