KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
Ralph Yarl, the Kansas City teenager who was shot after approaching the wrong house, said he’s past any hatred for the alleged gunman but said a conviction is needed for justice.
Yarl told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts that the alleged gunman, Andrew Lester, said ‘don’t ever come here again’ after the shooting.
Yarl approached what turned out to be the wrong home and was shot twice.
He was looking to pick up his siblings, but Yarl’s brothers were actually at a home a block away.
After ringing the doorbell, he said, he waited a long time on the porch before the door opened.
“I see this old man and I’m saying, ‘Oh, this must be like, their grandpa,’” said Yarl, now 17. “And then he pulls out his gun. And I’m like, ‘Whoa!’ So I like, back up. He points it at me.”
Yarl braced and turned his head.
“And then it happened, and then I’m on the ground. I fall on the glass, the shattered glass,” he told Roberts, and “then before I know it, I’m running away, shouting, ‘Help me! Help me!’”
The shooting was over two months ago and Yarl said he’s made a full recovery physically. He is still coping with the mental and emotional trauma.
As far as the shooting, Yarl said he doesn’t have any hatred about the man who shot him, but he said a conviction should happen.
“Justice is just the rule of the law, regardless of race, ethnicity, and age,” Yarl said. “He should be convicted for the crimes that he made. I am past having any personal hatred for him. He should suffer repercussions because that is what our society is made of: Trust in each other. And reassurance that we can coexist together in harmony.”
Lester has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
He’s due in court in late August.
