‘Determine the Facts’: Attorney for White Homeowner Who Shot Black Teen Ralph Yarl After He Rang the Wrong Doorbell Argues Boy Should Not be Called a ‘Victim’

The Kansas City teen who was shot at point-blank range after ringing the wrong doorbell should not be classified as a victim, attorneys representing the shooter argued in court this week. Ralph Yarl sustained a serious brain injury when he was shot twice by an elderly man who told police he feared for his life when the 16-year-old rang his doorbell. Yarl, who is Black, had been sent to pick up his twin brothers but got the address wrong. Andrew Lester, right, admitted to shooting Ralph Yarl, left. (Photos: GoFundMe/Twitter) Nearly two years after the shooting, Yarl still suffers from debilitating migraines, balance issues and mood changes, along with PTSD from the shooting. But Steven Salmon, the attorney for Andrew Lester, the man who shot Yarl, asked the court to stop referring to the teen as a victim because “it violates the accused’s presumption of innocence.” Lester, who is white, told police he believed Yarl was there to rob him and responded with two shots, striking the teen once in the head and once in the arm. Yarl went to three different homes seeking help before collapsing in the street. Lester, who is white, faces first-degree assault and armed criminal...