On Monday, the family of the Black teen who was shot in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell, took legal action, filing a lawsuit against the home owner’s association (HOA) and the gunman.
Over a year has passed since the then 84-year-old white man shot the 16-year-old without issuing any warnings on April 13.
According to the seven-page complaint, “‘At all times relevant, Plaintiff (Ralph Yarl) never posed or issued a threat to Defendant, Andrew Lester,’…adding the Highland Acres Homes Association ‘was aware of or should have been aware of Defendant, Andrew Lester’s, propensity for violence, access to dangerous weapons and racial animus,’” CNN reports.
The suit also states that Yarl “suffered and sustained permanent injuries, endured pain and suffering of a temporary and permanent nature, experienced disability and losses of normal life activities, was obligated to spend large sums of money for medical and attention and suffered other losses and damages.”
Yarl’s family filed their suit in an attempt to “give the family a chance to be in the driver’s seat in pursuing justice for Ralph.”
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Cleo Nagbe, Yarl’s mother announced that Yarl is choosing between two colleges.
Nagbe also shared that “[t]his incident not only shattered our family, but also exposed a critical gap in our societal fabric where the safety of our children is jeopardized by reckless actions.”
“Through this civil suit, we aim to spark a dialogue on the importance of responsible gun ownership and community safety measures of using words, not weapons,” continued Nagbe.
“We refuse to let Ralph’s suffering be in vain,” Nagbe proclaimed. “His ordeal must be a wake up call for our nation to prioritize child safety and act meaningful reform to protect our youth from gun violence.”
Lee Merritt, the attorney for the Yarl family criticized how Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson handled “the case.”
“We wanted to go ahead considering we have an elderly assailant using every opportunity to delay the legal process,” stated Merritt. “We want to go after that property, we want to go after all his resources. We don’t want to leave him with the resources or comfort on Earth until there’s accountability.”
When Ralph was shot, he ran into the community,” says Merritt. “The community went into a lock down system. I wanna know what led to that lock down. Was it related to the HOA policies and practices that led to the delay of Ralph getting the care he needed?”