2 Dead, 1 Gunman Arrested In Kenosha Riots, As Family of Jacob Blake Calls for Calm
A 17-year-old Illinois teen has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
The mother of Jacob Blake, the man who was shot in the back by Kenosha police on Sunday, has called for an end to the rioting that broke out in the aftermath her son's shooting, which has since left two people dead.
"My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted," Julia Jackson, Blake's mother, said in an interview with CNN Tuesday. "And as his mother, please don't burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son's name. You shouldn't do it."
Jacob Blake's mom on violence in Kenosha: "My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted. And as his mother, please don't burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son's name. You shouldn't do it. … it's just not acceptable." pic.twitter.com/T00Fg5MOvj
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 26, 2020
Blake is, according to his father, paralyzed from the waist down.
The video of his shooting prompted riots in the 100,000-person city of Kenosha, where businesses and vehicles have been torched. The city has declared an 8 p.m. curfew and 100 members of the Wisconsin National Guard have been deployed to the city.
Two people were fatally shot Tuesday night, according to a statement from the Kenosha Police Department.
Before the shooting incident, police, using tear gas, had pushed demonstrators out of a park in front of the Kenosha Courthouse.
Some of the crowd had reassembled at a nearby gas station where they got into repeated verbal arguments with armed men who said they were there to protect businesses from vandalism, reports The New York Times. A video of the incident shows a person with a rifle being chased down a street by a crowd of people.
One man can be seen taking a swing at the back of the gunman's head. He later falls to the ground and is set upon by several members of the crowd, and can be seen shooting at least two of them. The shooter is then seen walking toward armored police vehicles.
Several bystanders in video of the incident say that the gunman was being chased after already shooting someone, reports NPR. The alleged shooter, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois, was arrested in Illinois and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
The Daily Beast reports that Rittenhouse was an active supporter of Blue Lives Matter and pro-police causes on Facebook. An interview posted to Twitter by Daily Caller videographer Richard McGinnis shows Rittenhouse stating that he was there to protect businesses and that he was carrying a rifle and medical kit.
I interviewed the alleged shooter before the violence started.
Full video coming soon: pic.twitter.com/G3dVOJozN7
— Richie????McG???? (@RichieMcGinniss) August 26, 2020
Fellow vigilantes claimed not to know Rittenhouse when confronted by demonstrators after the shooting, saying they only referred to him as "medic."
"Tell us who he is, God damn man!" exclaimed one community member confronting the group.
"I don't know who the fuck he is!" says a militia guy.
"We know him as 'the medic'" said another militia guy as the argument continued. pic.twitter.com/ReGiLdRuMr
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) August 26, 2020
Many of the details surrounding last night's shooting incident remain murky. Wisconsin state police are in charge of the investigation, reports The New York Times.