*The grandson of the 84-year-old man who shot Black teen Ralph Yarl after he rang the wrong doorbell says his grandfather is racist.
Klint Ludwig spoke to CNN’s Don Lemon about the shooting and said he and his family support Yarl’s family in seeking justice, Complex reports.
“Myself and my family stand with Ralph Yarl in seeking justice,” he said. “It’s a tragedy, it never should’ve happened.”
Yarl was shot twice by Andrew Lester after he “mistakenly went to the wrong house” while picking up his siblings, according to a GoFundMe set up by his aunt, Faith Spoonmore.
When Yarl rang the doorbell, “The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head,” Spoonmore wrote. “My nephew fell to the ground, and the man shot him again.”
The teenager was shot twice, in the head and arm. Despite being seriously injured, Yarl was reportedly able to run to “three different homes” seeking help. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment and is now recovering at home in Kansas.
“Ralph Yarl is home and recovering! How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle,” an attorney posted by Lee Merritt wrote alongside a photo of Yarl at home. “To God be the glory!”
Ludwig told Don Lemon that his grandfather “holds racist tendencies and beliefs.”
“He’s just a stock American Christian male… The conspiracies and weird random racist things that they say. They’re just scared.”
Ludwig said his grandfather watched “Fox News all day every day blaring in his living room,” and like most racist white people, the old man fed off the “24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia.”
As NBC News reports, Ludwig reacted to the backlash against the Kansas City police department “for failing to act the day of,” he said.
“It is not easy to see someone I was close with make such a terrible mistake, but I will apply my convictions evenly and denounce what he’s done in the strongest terms,” he said.
Lester was ultimately charged in the shooting and has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
As Yarl continues to recover in the hospital his family is collecting funds online to cover medical costs. The fundraiser for the 16-year-old has garnered over $3.3 million.
“He can ambulate and communicate. A true miracle considering what he survived,” reads an update on the campaign page. “He has a long road ahead. However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us. I’ve been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words.”
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