The family of the black man shot at point-blank range by US police yesterday said he was paralysed – after his city erupted in a second night of violence.
Shops, government buildings and vehicles went up in flames in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as demonstrators defied an 8pm curfew and clashed with heavily armed police who fired tear gas.
The National Guard was drafted in to stop anyone getting close to firefighters battling the blazes. Earlier crowds gathered near the court to protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake. Footage of the incident went viral.
The dad-of-six was shot multiple times in front of his three children as he tried to get into a car with them on Sunday.
Yesterday he was still in intensive care. He is expected to survive but his father said he is paralysed from the waist down and doctors don’t know if his injury is permanent.
Jacob Blake Snr demanded: “What justified doing that in front of my grandsons?”
Lawyer Benjamin Crump said Mr Blake was helping to “de-escalate a domestic incident” when shot. The officers involved have been suspended.
Some witnesses said Blake was simply trying to break up a fight on Sunday evening.
Jacob Blake Snr said his son was a “happy little dude” growing up.
US President Donald Trump - heavily criticised over his handling of anti-racism protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd - decried the protests as "anarchy".
But local Black Lives Matter leaders has vowed demonstrations will continue until the officer who fired the shots has been sacked.
