The Kenosha Riots Just Turned Deadly
Death came to the chaotic streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, overnight Tuesday after skirmishes erupted amid violent protests and vandalism.
Two people were killed and one was wounded, according to Reuters.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said one victim had been shot in the head and another in the chest, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both were shot late Tuesday, he said. He said one person was wounded. Social media video showed a person shot in the arm.
Beth said police were looking for a man armed with a long gun, and that at least one suspect would be arrested soon based on video evidence.
“I feel very confident we’ll have him in a very short time,” Beth said, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Beth said individuals he said were part of a “militia” were on the streets of Kenosha, but said it was unclear if they were related to the shooting. Beginning Monday, the second night of the violence gripping Kenosha, armed citizens were guarding businesses to protect them against vandalism and arson.
“I’ve had people saying, ‘Why don’t you deputize citizens?’” he said, according to The New York Times. “This is why you don’t deputize citizens with guns to protect Kenosha.”
Videos from the streets of Kenosha captured some of the violence.
(WARNING: The following videos contain graphic violence that some viewers may find disturbing.)
Warning: Graphic Video
Shots fired in Kenosha on this Tuesday night #KenoshaRiots #Kenosha pic.twitter.com/q5vZ4zLmZz— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 26, 2020
BREAKING they shot someone in the head at the #KENOSHA riot RIGHT NOW
I repeat someone has been shot in what appears to be the head while looting a car shop
I can not confirm the exact wound location but he’s white and losing a lot of blood
I will update who shot him! pic.twitter.com/xZ6v5mpI82
— ELIJAH RIOT (@ElijahSchaffer) August 26, 2020
WARNING GRAPHIC: Man appears to have part his arm blown off. #Kenosha https://t.co/q2OUbMKmHO
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) August 26, 2020
Protester Devin Scott told the Chicago Tribune his version of the violence, according to The Associated Press.
“We were all chanting ‘black lives matter’ at the gas station and then we heard, boom, boom, and I told my friend, that’s not fireworks,” said Scott, 19. “And then this guy with this huge gun runs by us in the middle of the street and people are yelling, ‘He shot someone! He shot someone!’ And everyone is trying to fight the guy, chasing him and then he started shooting again.”
Scott said a man nearby was shot in the middle of the street.
He cradled the man in his arms, he said, and a woman tried to perform CPR.
“I don’t think he made it,” Scott said.
Arsonists have set a car on fire at the car dealer where the rioter was shot in the head
The rioters were about to torch the property in retaliation but police showed up in time to stop them #Kenosha pic.twitter.com/qwPCBUr9wq
— Drew Hernandez (@livesmattershow) August 26, 2020
Protesters have begun to try to push over a fence in front of the courthouse in Kenosha. Sheriff’s deputies in riot gear have emerged from the courthouse. Some are throwing projectiles at the officers. pic.twitter.com/mkRMuUx3TK
— Bill Ruthhart (@BillRuthhart) August 26, 2020
Prior to the shootings, rioters used fireworks against police and tried to damage the courthouse in Kenosha.
Rioting began Sunday after police shot James Blake, 29, who is black, in an incident that was touched off by a domestic violence complaint.
Initial video showed Blake walking away from police and entering his car, which is when he was shot multiple times. Subsequently, video was shared that showed Blake in a scuffle with police prior to the shooting.
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