KENOSHA, Wis (NewsNation) — Two people are dead and a third person was injured in a shooting during the third night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, law enforcement confirmed.
The shooting happened around midnight, several blocks south of the Kenosha County Courthouse, where demonstrators have been protesting since Sunday night after 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot by police at least seven times in a confrontation captured on cellphone video.
llinois police arrested Kyle Rittenhouse from Antioch, Illinois, on arrested suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide, the Antioch Police Department said.
The City of Kenosha Police and FBI will lead the investigation.
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency following the protests across the state on Tuesday afternoon. A curfew of 7 p.m. will be in effect for the city until Saturday.
Kenosha County Board of Supervisors have asked Evers to send in more National Guard troops with police powers — 1,500 of them.
“Our local law enforcement agencies need additional support to help bring civility back to our community,” stated the letter signed by board vice chairwoman, Monica Yuhas. “We are formally asking for 1,500 National Guard members with police powers to be sent to Kenosha County immediately.”
Hundreds of protesters defied an 8 p.m. curfew Monday night, massing in downtown Kenosha, where they were met by a wall of law enforcement officers, including 250 members of the Wisconsin National Guard.
Blake underwent another surgery on Tuesday, Attorney Ben Crump said.
Crump said bullets pierced Blake’s spine and shattered one of his ribs, puncturing a lung, damaging his liver and creating holes in his stomach.
Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, said her son is fighting for his life.
“We just really need prayers,” she said. “As I was riding through here, through the city, I noticed a lot of damage. That doesn’t reflect my son or my family, as I pray for my son’s healing, physically and emotionally and spiritually, I also have been praying even before this for the healing of our country.”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul spoke Wednesday and provided more details about the police shooting.
The officers were placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice in a shooting by police. Authorities released no details about the officers and did not immediately respond to requests for their service records. Police have said little about what happened, other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating.
This is a developing story.
