An elderly man in Kansas City, Missouri was charged Monday with first-degree assault for shooting a teen who mistakenly went to the man's home to pick up his younger brothers.
Prosecutors said at a news conference that there was a "racial component" Thursday night when Andrew Lester, 84, twice shot a 16-year-old, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital. But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated. The teen is black, the homeowner is white.
The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders demanded justice. Some, including lawyers for the teen, pressed the racial dimension of the case.
No words were exchanged before the shooting, the probable cause statement said. But afterward, as the teen got up to run, he heard Lester yell, "Don't come around here," the statement said.
The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison. Lester was not charged with a hate crime. Missouri's statute is considered a lesser felony than first-degree assault, and carries a less severe penalty.
Missouri is among roughly 30 states with "Stand Your Ground" laws, which allow for the use of deadly force in self-defense, but the prosecutor determined the shooting was not in self defense.
Lester told police that he lives alone and had just gone to bed when he heard his doorbell, according to the probable cause statement. He said he picked up his gun and went to the door, where he saw a black youth pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought someone was breaking in.
Police Chief Stacey Graves said that the teen's parents asked him to pick up his brothers at a home on 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to 115th Street, by mistake.
The teen's aunt, Faith Spoonmore, wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay medical bills. By Monday afternoon, $1.4 million had been raised.
