The White man who allegedly shot and injured unarmed Black teenager Ralph Yarl when he mistakenly rang his doorbell faces two felony charges in a case that has sparked widespread outrage.

CNN Reports that Andrew Lester, 84, was charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. Clay County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson announced the charges Monday night (April 17), adding that a warrant was issued for Lester’s arrest.

“I can tell you there was a racial component to this case,” Thompson said without giving any details.

Investigators allege that Lester shot Yarl on April 13 when the 16-year-old high school student went to the wrong house, mistaking the neighborhood's 115th Terrace for 115th Street, to pick up his younger brothers from a friend’s house. Officers responded to the shooting around 10 p.m. Yarl was hospitalized with serious injuries but is now recovering at home.

At the news conference Monday, Thompson said there’s no evidence that Lester and Yarl spoke to each other or that the teenager entered Lester’s home. The evidence points to Lester firing at Yarl through a glass door with a .32 caliber revolver.

Yarl told the police that he simply rang Lester’s doorbell and waited, the probable cause statement said, according to CNN.

“(He) stated the male inside took a long time but finally opened the door holding a firearm. He stated he was immediately shot in the head and fell to the ground,” the detective writes.

Ralph was shot twice, with bullets striking him in the left forehead and right arm, the statement read.

According to Lester, he was in bed when Yarl rang his doorbell and was “scared to death” because at his age he couldn’t defend himself against Yarl. That prompted him to take his gun before answering the door, CNN reported, citing a probable cause statement.

“He stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice (through an exterior storm door) within a few seconds of opening the (main) door,” a police detective writes in the court document, according to CNN. But Lester expressed concern for Yarl, the statement continued.

The probable cause statement didn’t explain why investigators believe race was a factor in the shooting. At the press conference, Thompson said hate crimes are lower-level felonies in Missouri and could constitute double jeopardy if added to the charges against Lester.

Meanwhile, the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, said his clients are glad that Yarl survived the shot to the head, and they hope he has a full recovery.

“He’s not out of the woods yet, but the great thing is, (medical officials) said he was stable enough to go to his home,” Crump, who is co-counsel with Lee Merritt, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday afternoon before Thompson announced charges.

Authorities first took Lester into custody on April 13, shortly after the shooting. But he was held only for a few hours before being released.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves explained to reporters Sunday (April 16) that Missouri law allows the police to detain suspects for a maximum of 24 hours for a felony without formally making an arrest. She said that more work was needed at that point to investigate the case before presenting evidence to the prosecutor.

That decision prompted an outcry for justice. Hundreds of people marched to Lester’s residence to demand an arrest.

In her first interview after the shooting, Yarl's mother, Cleo Nagbe sat down with Merritt on CBS Morning on Tuesday (April 18) and told co-host Gayle King about the extent of her son's injuries.

“Ralph is doing considerably well. Physically, mornings are hard, but his spirits are in a good place. I borrow from his spirits. He is in very good hands.”

Nagbe provided further details, saying that her son still has several bullets in his body but that he is "able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares, and the buckets of tears just roll down his eyes. You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesn’t stop my tears either."

Authorities first took Lester into custody on April 13, shortly after the shooting. But he was held only for a few hours before being released.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves explained to reporters Sunday (April 16) that Missouri law allows the police to detain suspects for a maximum of 24 hours for a felony without formally making an arrest. She said that more work was needed at that point to investigate the case before presenting evidence to the prosecutor.

That decision prompted an outcry for justice. Hundreds of people marched to Lester’s residence to demand an arrest.