CHICAGO _ Lake County teenager Kyle Rittenhouse on Thursday was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and a host of other charges following shootings in Kenosha where two people died and another was wounded during violent demonstrations over Sunday's police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The charges by Kenosha County prosecutors come the day after Rittenhouse was arrested. The 17-year-old from Antioch is charged with: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
The shootings occurred Tuesday night as civilians armed with rifles inserted themselves into violent demonstrations that raged for three nights in the city just over the Wisconsin border.
Rittenhouse was arrested Wednesday after a complaint identified him as a fugitive wanted for murder in Kenosha County. Antioch police said Rittenhouse was charged as an adult. A judge ordered him held without bail at the Lake County juvenile detention facility. A court hearing is scheduled for Friday on whether to extradite him to Wisconsin.
Numerous video clips posted online appear to show Rittenhouse at the scene Tuesday night with a rifle, including several that show shootings and their aftermaths. The videos also indicated that he approached police before the shootings despite being out past curfew and a year too young to carry a gun openly in Wisconsin.
Records show Rittenhouse has worked as a YMCA lifeguard. His social media postings show that he idolizes police and has participated in programs for aspiring cops.
One of the men killed was identified by his girlfriend Wednesday night as Anthony Huber. Police have indicated he was 26 years old and lived in Silver Lake, just west of Kenosha. The other man killed was Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha, according to the Associated Press. A third person from the Milwaukee suburbs was wounded but expected to survive.
On the same day Rittenhouse was arrested, Wisconsin authorities identified the officer who shot Blake seven times as Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department.
The police shooting came about 5 p.m. Sunday after Kenosha officers responded to a call from a woman who reported that her boyfriend was present but not supposed to be there, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. At the scene, officers unsuccessfully used a Taser, the state Justice Department said in a news release.
In footage shared online, Blake walks from the sidewalk around the front of an SUV to the driver-side door as officers follow him with their guns pointed. As Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and appears to open fire while Blake has his back turned.
The state Justice Department said Wednesday night that a knife was recovered from the driver-side floorboard of the vehicle. State authorities did not say whether they believed Blake possessed or touched the knife or if it could have presented any threat to the officers.
Blake's lawyers and family said Tuesday that he is paralyzed from the waist down and may never walk again. The family has called for peaceful protests.
After three nights of violent demonstrations, looting and fires, Kenosha's streets were relatively calm Wednesday night. Following the gunfire Tuesday night, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced he would double the number of National Guard members in Kenosha to 500. Local authorities moved up their nightly curfew by an hour to 7 p.m., though protesters ignored it even as they remained generally peaceful.
