84-year-old Andrew Lester, the Kansas City man who’s accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, has surrendered and is in custody, it has been confirmed. As we previously reported, Yarl had shown up to the wrong home address to pick up his siblings when Lester allegedly shot the teenager in the head and in the arm.
In an official statement by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, they revealed, “Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has surrendered at our Detention Center and is in custody. He is in the booking process right now.” Lester has been cooperating with investigators, according to NBC News, telling them he had gone to bed when he saw a Black male approaching his door handle and supposedly mistook the boy for a home intruder.
According to the police report, he claimed that shooting Yarl was the “last thing he wanted to do,” but he was “scared to death” and acted in self-defense. Yarl, who was interviewed by cops at the hospital where he was being treated for his injuries, said he never pulled on the door, stating he was waiting in front of the door after ringing the bell when Lester opened the door and immediately shot him.
The shooting of Yarl had a profound impact on his family. who have since been protesting over the brutal events that transpired last week, with many trailing behind them and demanding that Lester is punished to the highest form.
“Nobody can tell us if the roles were reversed, and you had a Black man shoot a White, 16-year-old teenager for merely ringing his doorbell that he would not be arrested,” the family’s lawyer Ben Crump said. “I mean, this citizen went home and slept in his bed at night after shooting that young Black kid in the head.”
A GoFundMe page has since been opened by his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, for the family to raise enough money to cover Yarl’s medical expenses.
“Last summer, Ralph attended Missouri Scholar’s Academy, where he got a full college life experience,” she wrote. “His goal is to attend Texas A&M to major in chemical Engineering. When asked how he plans to get into this university, he said, ‘Well, if they have a scholarship for music or academics, I know I can get it.’ “
“Life looks a lot different right now. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally. The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable,” the donation page reads.
RELATED: Andrew Lester Released On $200,000 Bond After Surrendering To Felony Charges In Ralph Yarl Shooting
Meanwhile, Dan Clemens, who is the superintendent of North Kansas City Schools, gave a statement of his own, writing, “We are devastated to learn one of our students was involved in a horrific incident last week.
“Our thoughts are with the Yarl family, and I know I speak for all of us when we wish him a full and quick recovery. Ralph is an excellent student and talented musician. He maintains a stellar GPA while taking mostly college level courses. While he loves science and hopes to pursue that career path, his passion is music. Thankfully, we know he is now recovering alongside family.”