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(CNN) When Clint Ludwig learned that his grandfather, a white homeowner in Kansas City, shot a black teenager who rang his doorbell, he was taken aback, but not entirely surprised.
“The warning signs were there. I wasn’t shocked when I heard the news,” Ludwig told CNN Thursday. “I believe he had racist tendencies and beliefs.”
But Ludwig’s older brother, Daniel, got into the idea that race played a role when his grandfather, 84-year-old Andrew Lester, shot 16-year-old Ralph Jarl in front of his door on April 13. He is said to have filed an objection.
Lester, who was initially taken into custody but released hours after the shooting, is now charged with two felonies.
Andrew Lester pleaded not guilty and was released from prison.
On Wednesday, Lester pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal conduct charges.
Sixteen-year-old Ralph went to the wrong address to pick up his younger siblings. 1100 NE 115th Terrace, not 1100 NE 115th Street. After ringing Lester’s doorbell, Ralph is shot in his head and arm.
According to probable cause documents obtained by CNN, Lester told police he hadn’t spoken to the teenager before shooting him through a locked glass door.
The home owner said he thought Ralph was trying to break into the house and was “scared to death” because of the boy’s size, according to documents.
Ralph’s aunt told CNN that her nephew is under six feet tall and probably under 170 pounds.
Leicester’s attorney, Stephen Salmon, has not responded to a request for comment.When CNN visited the Kansas City office on Thursday, his secretary said the attorney was unavailable to speak.
The case was one of several recent cases involving young people who were shot dead after accidentally going to the wrong house, wrong driveway, or wrong car.
Ralph has been released from the hospital, but the high school bass clarinetist faces a long road to recovery, according to his family.
Daniel Ludwig doesn’t believe his grandfather fired if Ralph hadn’t “headed the door,” the older brother told the Kansas City Star.
According to probable cause documents obtained by CNN, Lester told police he saw Ralph pulling on the exterior door handle and shot himself shortly after answering the doorbell.
Ralph said he never pulled the door. He rang the doorbell and waited a while before the man finally opened the door and immediately shot him in the head, documents say.
Ralph told police the gunman opened fire again and shot him in the arm while the teenager was still on the ground.
Ralph Yarl was hospitalized with gunshot wounds to the head and arm, but was later released.
The Ludwig brothers have different views about their grandfather, but both say the shooting was unfortunate.
Daniel Ludwig told The Star newspaper: “It’s just sad. I wish it hadn’t happened.” It seems like a series of mistakes led to the tragedy. There was a mistake.”
Daniel Ludwig declined to comment when contacted by CNN.
His younger brother supported the injured teenager and criticized his grandfather’s actions.
“I was disgusted. “This is a terrible tragedy that should never have happened.”
When asked why he decided against his grandfather, he replied, “That’s the right thing to do.”
Too often in the United States, my brother said, “People are killing innocent innocent black people and running away.”
“People need to speak up,” he said.
Clint Ludwig has said he feels uneasy about his grandfather making racist remarks about black people in the past.
His grandfather, he said, believed in right-wing conspiracy theories and was subject to the “fear and paranoia” fueled by right-wing media, which often “rang in his living room.”
“I think these things really reinforce this negative view of minority groups,” Clint Ludwig told CNN.
In an interview with The New York Times, Daniel Ludwig disputed claims that his grandfather supported extreme right-wing views and conspiracy theories, but did not go into detail.
In a text message to The Times, Daniel Ludwig said, “These people aren’t as close to him as I am.” rice field.
Clint Ludwig says he and Lester were separated during the Covid-19 pandemic after challenging some of his grandfather’s conspiracy theories.
“He couldn’t stand being pushed back and at one point we lost touch,” said Clint Ludwig. “I think it was his choice over mine.”
CNN’s Virginia Langmaid, Nicky Brown, Joe Sutton, Don Lemon and Chris Boyett contributed to this report.
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