17-Year-Old Arrested After Killing Two at Kenosha Protests
Video captured an armed man at the Kenosha protests moments before the shooting.
Over the last few days, people have gathered in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin to launch protests after the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake. Blake was shot seven times by Kenosha Police Department officers after intervening in an altercation involving two local women. On Tuesday night, a man opened fire at a Kenosha protest, killing two and wounding another. The alleged gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, will be charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
According to journalist Claire Goforth, Rittenhouse's home of Lake County, Illinois has labeled him a fugitive from justice, fleeing the state of Wisconsin "with intent to avoid prosecution for that offense."
After the protest moved towards the Kenosha courthouse, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd. At some point later, a white man with a large rifle could be seen moving towards the protestors. Around 11:45 pm, according to a release from the police department, officers responded to reports of multiple gunshot victims.
Kenosha Sheriff David Beth said the following investigation will focus on a group of armed men standing outside a gas station, scouring video from the moments preceding the shooting. "I've had people saying, 'why don't you deputize citizens?'," Beth said. "This is why you don't deputize citizens with guns to protect Kenosha."
In a video that began circulating shortly afterwards, Kenosha police allegedly gave one armed man a bottle of water, adding that they appreciated the group showing up. Stay tuned for further updates regarding the upcoming investigation.
Jacob Blake survived the shooting, but his family says that he's paralyzed from the waist down as a result. Benjamin Crump, who will represent the Blake family, called the police's actions "irresponsible, reckless, and inhumane...[they] nearly cost the life of a man who was simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident."