Authorities say a 17-year-old was arrested Wednesday and faces first-degree intentional homicide charges in connection with gunfire that killed two people and wounded a third during a third consecutive night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police shooting of a Black man Sunday.
Police arrested Kyle Rittenhouse at his home in Antioch, Illinois, about 24 kilometers from Kenosha. Rittenhouse, who is being held in Illinois, was also charged as a fugitive from justice, according to court records. His extradition hearing is scheduled for Friday.
According to Wisconsin law, Rittenhouse would be charged as an adult.
Despite a city curfew from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m., which is to last through Sunday, protesters had gathered again late Wednesday in Kenosha, local media reported.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice released Wednesday the first official accounting of, and the name of the officer involved in, the shooting Sunday that has led to at least three days of protests in the southeastern Wisconsin town of more than 100,000.
Law enforcement officials identified Officer Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department, as the one who fired seven shots Sunday that hit Jacob Blake, 29.
According to the report, Kenosha police had been called to a residence "after a female caller reported that her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises."
Officers used a Taser when trying to arrest Blake in the home’s front yard, but it was unsuccessful, the report said. Blake then walked to his vehicle, with officers trailing him.
As Blake leaned into the driver’s side door, "While holding onto Mr. Blake’s shirt, Officer Rusten Sheskey fired his service weapon 7 times," the Wisconsin DOJ said in a statement. "Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr. Blake’s back. No other officer fired their weapon.”
The report noted that Kenosha police do not have body cameras on their uniforms.
Investigators said Wednesday they found a knife on the driver’s side floorboard in Blake’s car, but no other weapons. The report said Blake had told officers he had a knife in his possession, although it is unclear whether Sheskey knew of the knife when he shot Blake or if Blake threatened the officer with the knife.
Three of Blake’s children were in the vehicle when their father was shot, Blake family attorney Patrick Salvi Jr. said Tuesday.
The shooting left Blake paralyzed from the waist down, Blake’s family and lawyer said Tuesday. Salvi also told reporters that several of Blake’s internal organs had been damaged in the shooting.
Sunday’s police shooting of Blake set off protests in Kenosha, as well as around the country.
On Tuesday, cellphone video was released showing a person carrying what appears to be an assault rifle running down a major street being chased by a group of people. The apparent gunman shot at several of his pursuers as they began to surround him after he fell to the ground.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told reporters Wednesday that what happened in the streets of Kenosha Tuesday night is why people should not try to take the law into their own hands.
"I had a person call me and say, 'Why don't you deputize citizens who have guns to come out and patrol the city of Kenosha?' ...Oh, hell no. What happened last night...was probably the perfect reason why I wouldn't,” Beth said.
President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday he would "be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!"
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany released a statement Wednesday that said, "President Trump condemns violence in all forms and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness.”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers had already authorized sending 500 National Guardsmen to Kenosha.
U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted that FBI agents and U.S. Marshals were being deployed to the city in response to the unrest.
In a video tweeted Wednesday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he talked to Blake’s parents and told them "justice must and will be done."
"Once again, a Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by the police. In front of his children. It makes me sick. Is this the country we want to be? Needless violence won’t heal us. We need to end the violence and peacefully come together to demand justice," Biden said.
Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, also talked about the Wisconsin shootings during an online event Wednesday in Michigan, and said, "And what happened there is so tragic and still represents the two systems of justice in America. There are still two systems of justice in America.”
Beginning Wednesday afternoon, major sports, including the National Basketball Association, women’s NBA, major league baseball and soccer, began boycotting and postponing games to protest Blake’s shooting.
