On April 13th, a 16 year old teenager named Ralph Yarl was shot twice - once in the head, and another in the arm. The perpetrator of this crime is named Andrew Lester.
This event occurred because the teenager accidentally went to the wrong house to pick up his brothers. A day after the fact, Andrew Lester turned himself in to the police but was let go and an investigation was started. He was only arrested because of the social outcry from across the United States, and now faces up to life in prison. The prosecutor is claiming that the attack had racial undertones, and seems to be an act of aggression due to the fact that Ralph is black.
Ralph Yarl is now at home and recovering from the attack, and has been recently invited to the White House after a phone call with the president. His aunt has also started a GoFundMe and raised 2.3 million dollars for him. This assault has caused a recent spark in debates concerning the “Stand Your Ground Laws”. It's the third of three cases that occurred recently, each one being someone attacked/shot for being in the wrong place. Andrew's next court date is June 1st.
Cover photo courtesy of Charlie Riedel with the Associated Press
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