Can a doorbell ring justify a 'stand your ground' shooting? [View all]

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andrew Lester had already gone to bed when the doorbell rang a little before 10 p.m. He got up, grabbed a gun and went to check it out. Seeing a Black male appearing to pull the handle of the front door, police say the 84-year-old white man opened fire. No questions asked.

Lester told police he believed someone was attempting to break into his house.


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“Lester stated he opened the interior door, and saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle. He stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door,” according to the police statement. Lester told police he was "scared to death."

There apparently were no words exchanged before the shooting. Yarl told police he pressed the doorbell but didn't pull on the door. He said the man shot him in the head, then after he fell to the ground, shot him a second time in the arm. As Yarl got up to run, the man said, “Don't come around here,” according to the police report.

Some legal experts said Tuesday that although Lester could try to use the castle doctrine as a defense, prosecutors could counter that he did not have reasonable grounds to believe Yarl was breaking into his house.

Nothing in the law “allows someone to shoot first and ask questions later when someone innocently rings a doorbell. That’s something that UPS does on a daily basis, delivery drivers, children selling Girl Scout cookies,” said Ari Freilich, an attorney and state policy director with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

"Our laws can’t be structured in a way that allow (guns) to be used that cavalierly,” Freilich added.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/can-a-doorbell-ring-justify-a-stand-your-ground-shooting/ar-AA1a1tFX