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The family of Ralph Yarl, a teenager who was shot in April 2023 after approaching the wrong home in Kansas City, Mo., is suing the man charged in the shooting for what they argue was “careless and negligent conduct,” a year after the incident stoked national outrage over self-defense laws.

The seven-page lawsuit, filed Monday in Clay County Circuit Court by Yarl’s mother, alleges that Andrew Lester, 85, “carelessly and negligently discharged a loaded firearm at an unarmed minor.” Lester, who is White, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting that injured Yarl, who is Black. He <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/09/20/ralph-yarl-andrew-lester-shooting-doorbell/" target="_blank">pleaded not guilty</a> in September.

Yarl’s family is also suing Lester’s homeowners association, Highland Acres Homes Association, claiming the organization had a duty to exercise reasonable care “regarding the use of a firearm in and on the properties making up the Association.”

Lester’s attorney, Steven Salmon, said in an email Monday afternoon that he’s aware of the lawsuit and is in the process of evaluating and discussing it with his client. The Highland Acres Homes Association did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.

Yarl, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, has injuries that have interfered with normal life activities, according to the lawsuit. His family filed the lawsuit about two weeks after the anniversary of the shooting.

On April 13, 2023, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/18/ralph-yarl-kansas-city-shooting-faq/" target="_blank">Yarl rang Lester’s doorbell in Kansas City</a>, mistaking it for a friend’s home. Yarl was sent to pick up his younger siblings, but he approached a home about a block away.

Lester opened the door and allegedly shot the high-schooler twice — once in the head and once in the arm. Yarl screamed and ran to nearby homes asking for help, ultimately collapsing at the end of a driveway, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/18/ralph-yarl-kansas-city-shooting-faq/#JIHCRCDZNFC3HK3RLL2LB22UT4-0?itid=lk_inline_manual_7" target="_blank">witnesses said at the time.</a>

Police arrived after receiving a 911 call, and Lester told officers that he fired his Smith &amp; Wesson .32-caliber revolver because he feared someone was trying to break into his home, according to a criminal complaint. He told police that he was “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/19/ralph-yarl-andrew-lester-shooting-black-fear/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9" target="_blank">scared to death</a>” after Yarl appeared at the door.

The shooting drew national attention, igniting <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/17/ralph-yarl-shooting-kansas-city/" target="_blank">protests for multiple days</a>, with lawmakers and celebrities <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/18/ralph-yarl-kansas-city-shooting-faq/?itid=lk_inline_manual_28#TF74YJUTOFHDVAGZ4FFQHIRJ2Y-5" target="_blank">expressing support</a> for Yarl.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">President Biden</a> called Yarl and <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1648390965797744640?s=20" target=_blank>invited him</a> to the White House; Vice President Harris <a href="https://x.com/VP/status/1648046091764486151" target=_blank>said on social media that</a> “no child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell.” The shooting came as the United States reckoned with its long <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/race-america/?itid=lk_inline_manual_67" target=_blank>history of violence against Black people</a> — and revived a debate on<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/18/stand-your-ground-missouri-ralph-yarl/" target=_blank> self-defense statutes</a>.

Missouri’s <a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=563.031" target="_blank">“stand your ground”</a> and “castle doctrine” laws say homeowners may use deadly force for self-defense if he or she reasonably believes that deadly force is necessary. Experts <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/18/ralph-yarl-kansas-city-shooting-faq/#JIHCRCDZNFC3HK3RLL2LB22UT4-0?itid=lk_inline_manual_12" target="_blank">have told The Post</a> that homeowners must be able to prove that an active threat existed.

In the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/09/20/ralph-yarl-andrew-lester-shooting-doorbell/" target="_blank">criminal case</a> pending against Lester, his attorney has argued that the homeowner was acting in self-defense and that there has not been “a shred of evidence” that suggests race was a factor.

Lester faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the first-degree assault charge and up to 15 years for the armed criminal action charge. That trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 7.

University of California at Santa Barbara, BA in sociology

Anumita Kaur is a general assignment reporter for The Washington Post, where she covers breaking news and writes of-the-moment features. She has previously reported for the Los Angeles Times and Guam Pacific Daily News. 

Anumita Kaur

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Family of Ralph Yarl files lawsuit against Andrew Lester after shooting

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