Police in riot gear clear the area in front of Kenosha County Courthouse during clashes with protesters late Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Protests continue following the police shooting of Jacob Blake two days earlier. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
KENOSHA, Wis.聽 鈥� A white, 17-year-old police admirer was arrested Wednesday after two people were shot to death during a third straight night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.
Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, was taken into custody in Illinois on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide. Antioch is about 15 miles from Kenosha.
Two people were killed Tuesday night and a third was wounded in an attack apparently carried out by a young white man who was caught on cellphone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a semi-automatic rifle.
鈥淚 just killed somebody,鈥� the gunman could be heard saying at one point during the rampage that erupted just before midnight.
In the wake of the killings, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers authorized the sending of 500 members of the National Guard to Kenosha, doubling the number of troops. The governor鈥檚 office said he is working with other states to bring in additional National Guard members and law officers. Authorities also announced a 7 p.m. curfew, an hour earlier than the night before.
鈥淎 senseless tragedy like this cannot happen again,鈥� the governor, a Democrat, said in a statement. 鈥淚 again ask those who choose to exercise their First Amendment rights please do so peacefully and safely, as so many did last night. I also ask the individuals who are not there to exercise those rights to please stay home and let local first responders, law enforcement and members of the Wisconsin National Guard do their jobs.鈥�
In Washington, the Justice Department said it is sending in the FBI and federal marshals in response to the unrest. The White House said up to 2,000 National Guard troops would be made available.
And in Orlando, the NBA鈥檚 Milwaukee Bucks, a team based in Wisconsin, didn鈥檛 take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. It was later announced that all three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday were postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.
The dead were identified only as a 26-year-old Silver Lake, Wisconsin, resident and a 36-year-old from Kenosha. The wounded person, a 36-year-old from West Allis, Wisconsin, was expected to survive, police said.
鈥淲e were all chanting 鈥楤lack lives matter鈥� at the gas station and then we heard, boom, boom, and I told my friend, `鈥橳hat鈥檚 not fireworks,'鈥� 19-year-old protester Devin Scott told the Chicago Tribune. 鈥淎nd then this guy with this huge gun runs by us in the middle of the street and people are yelling, 鈥楬e shot someone! He shot someone!鈥� And everyone is trying to fight the guy, chasing him and then he started shooting again.鈥�
Scott said he cradled a lifeless victim in his arms, and a woman started performing CPR, but 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he made it.鈥�
According to witness accounts and video footage, police apparently let the gunman walk past them and leave the scene with a rifle over his shoulder and his hands in the air as members of the crowd were yelling for him to be arrested because he had shot people.
As for how the gunman managed to leave the scene, Sheriff David Beth portrayed a chaotic, high-stress situation, with screaming, chanting, nonstop radio traffic and people running all over 鈥� conditions he said can cause 鈥渢unnel vision鈥� among law officers.
Rittenhouse was assigned a public defender in Illinois for a hearing Friday on his transfer to Wisconsin. The public defender鈥檚 office had no comment. Under Wisconsin law, anyone 17 or older is treated as an adult in the criminal justice system.
Much of Rittenhouse鈥檚 Facebook page is devoted to praising law enforcement, with references to Blue Lives Matter, a movement that supports police. He also can be seen holding an assault rifle.
Other photographs include those of badges of various law enforcement agencies, including the Chicago Police Department. All of the badges have a black line across them 鈥� something police officers typically do with black tape when an officer is killed in the line of duty.
In a photograph posted by his mother, he is wearing what appears to be a blue law enforcement uniform as well as the kind of brimmed hat that state troopers wear.
The sheriff told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that militia members or armed vigilantes had been patrolling Kenosha鈥檚 streets in recent nights, but he did not know if the gunman was among them. However, video taken before the shooting shows police tossing bottled water from an armored vehicle to what appear to be armed civilians walking the streets. And one of them appears to be the gunman.
鈥淲e appreciate you being here,鈥� an officer is heard saying to the group over a loudspeaker.
Before the shooting, the conservative website The Daily Caller conducted a video interview with the suspected gunman in front of a boarded-up business.
鈥淪o people are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business,鈥� the young man said. 鈥淎nd part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt, I鈥檓 running into harm鈥檚 way. That鈥檚 why I have my rifle 鈥� because I can protect myself, obviously. But I also have my med kit.鈥�
Sam Dirks, 22, from Milwaukee, said he had seen the gunman earlier in the evening, and he was yelling at some of the protesters. 鈥淗e was definitely very agitated. He was pacing around, just pointing his gun in general. Not necessarily at anyone specifically,鈥� Dirks said.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is Black, said in an interview with the news program 鈥淒emocracy Now!鈥� that the shootings were not surprising and that white militias have been ignored for too long.
鈥淗ow many times across this country do you see armed gunmen, protesting, walking into state Capitols, and everybody just thinks it鈥檚 OK?鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淧eople treat that like it鈥檚 some kind of normal activity that people are walking around with assault rifles.鈥�
In Wisconsin, it is legal for people 18 and over to openly carry a gun, with no license required.
Witness accounts and video indicate the shootings took place in two stages: The gunman first shot someone at a car lot, then jogged away, fell in the street, and opened fire again as members of the crowd closed in on him.
A witness, Julio Rosas, 24, said that when the gunman stumbled, 鈥渢wo people jumped onto him and there was a struggle for control of his rifle. At that point during the struggle, he just began to fire multiple rounds, and that dispersed people near him.鈥�
鈥淭he rifle was being jerked around in all directions while it was being fired,鈥� Rosas said.
Blake, 29, was shot, apparently in the back, on Sunday as he leaned into his SUV, three of his children seated inside. Kenosha police have said little about what happened other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute. They have not said whether Blake was armed, and they have not disclosed the race of the three officers on the scene.
On Tuesday, Ben Crump, the lawyer for Blake鈥檚 family, said it would 鈥渢ake a miracle鈥� for Blake to walk again. He called for the officer who opened fire to be arrested and for the others involved to lose their jobs.
The shooting was captured on cellphone video and ignited new protests in the U.S. three months after the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer touched off a nationwide reckoning over racial injustice.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden posted a video saying he had spoken with Blake鈥檚 parents and other family members.
鈥淲hat I saw on that video makes me sick,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淥nce again, a Black man, Jacob Blake, has been shot by the police in broad daylight, with the whole world watching.鈥�