The family of Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who was shot in April 2023 after going to the wrong house in Kansas City, filed a lawsuit Monday against the white homeowner who shot him. The lawsuit, filed by Yarl's mother, Cleopatra Nagbe, in Clay County Circuit Court, accuses Andrew Lester, 85, of being careless when he shot Yarl in the head and arm without warning. Yarl, who was 16 at the time, was severely injured and suffered a traumatic brain injury, USA Today, reports. Yarl "never posed or issued a threat to Defendant, Andrew Lester,” the lawsuit states. "At no time relevant to the circumstances giving rise to this litigation did {Yarl) do anything that warranted Defendant, Andrew Lester, brandishing a firearm at him."
Yarl's family is also suing Lester's homeowners association, Highland Acres Homes Association, alleging that the association was aware of or should have been aware of Lester's "propensity for violence, access to dangerous weapons and racial animus," the lawsuit says. The suit claimed that the association had a duty to exercise reasonable care "regarding the use of a firearm in and on the properties making up the Association." Lester was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. If convicted, he could face life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is scheduled for Oct. 7.
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