Andrew Lester was consumed by "fear and paranoia," says grandson of 84-year-old white man who shot Black teen Ralph Yarl on his doorstep.
Fear, paranoia and conspiracy theories consumed the elderly white man who shot Black teen Ralph Yarl in the head after the 16-year-old went to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, according to the man's grandson.
Andrew Lester, 84, is free on $200,000 bail after pleading not guilty Wednesday to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting last week of Yarl, who survived being wounded in the face and is recuperating at his Kansas City home.
"A lot of people of that generation are caught up in this 24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia perpetuated by some other news stations. And he was fully into that, sitting and watching Fox News all day, every day blaring in his living room," Lester's grandson, Klint Ludwig, told CNN.
Ludwig said the shooting was “a horrible tragedy that never should have happened." The 28-year-old said he was speaking up because, "It's the right thing to do."
The grandson said he and his family stand with the Yarl family. “In this country, it happens over and over again where people get away with killing unarmed innocent Black people, and I would have had the same energy for any other case like I’ve had over and over again in this country," he said.
Ludwig also spoke to The New York Times, saying he had become estranged from his grandfather in recent years. He recounted a family dinner during the COVID-19 pandemic at which Lester espoused a conspiracy theory involving Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's infectious disease expert.
“I was like, ‘man, this sounds crazy,’” Ludwig said. “I told him it was ridiculous.”
The Times also spoke with Mary Clayton, 81, who was married to Lester for 14 years, she said.
The woman, who now lives in California, said she hadn't spoken with her ex-husband for decades. She described him as an angry man who smashed things and had episodes of rage.
“I was always scared of him,” Clayton said. “It doesn’t surprise me, what happened.”
Daniel Ludwig, another grandson, told The Kansas City Star his grandfather believed he was in danger, but called the shooting tragic.
"It seems like a bunch of mistakes in a row that resulted in a tragedy," he told the paper. "I mean, a lot of mistakes all the way around, unfortunately.”
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