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 pleaded not guilty 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.
Read more here from the Washington Post.
