An Antioch teenager has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the fatal shooting of two people during the third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, surrendered himself early Wednesday at the Antioch Police Department, Chief Geoffrey Guttschow said.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul also released the name of the Kenosha police officer who shot Blake seven times. The officer, Rusten Sheskey, has been with the Kenosha Police Department for seven years, Kaul said. He and the other officers who were present Sunday have been placed on administrative leave.
The Antioch Police Department advised in a news release Wednesday that it is aware of several posts that imply that Antioch may "experience social unrest." The department said it "has devoted its full attention to evaluating every one of these posts in an attempt to determine their level of validity and credibility."
At 7:45 p.m., Antioch Police set an emergency curfew within village limits going into effect from 8 p.m. Wednesday until 7 a.m. Thursday.
Residents were asked to stay in their homes and businesses were told to close.
On Wednesday evening, a couple of Antioch police cars and officers could be seen outside the apartment complex where Rittenhouse lives.
Rittenhouse remained at a Lake County juvenile detention center Wednesday on local charges labeling him a fugitive of justice from Wisconsin, where a warrant has been issued for his arrest, said the Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman, Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
Generally, when a person faces extradition to another state, a judge has the opportunity to review the facts of the case before transportation is arranged, Covelli said, not in reference to Rittenhouse's case specifically.
The teenager is scheduled for a court appearance Friday in Lake County, records show.
Two people were shot to death and another was wounded during the shooting. A possible vigilante was seen on cellphone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a rifle.
In a news release issued Wednesday, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul called the shooting "despicable."
"Kenosha residents deserve the opportunity to grieve, come together, peacefully protest, call for change and heal," Kaul said. "The heavily armed vigilantes, arsonists and other opportunists who have come to Kenosha to attempt to spur chaos have interfered with that and caused drastic harm to people. If those engaging in violence and destruction of property believe they are furthering some broader goal, they are wrong. They should leave Kenosha."
The gunfire was reported just before midnight, and Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said one victim was shot in the head and another in the chest, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The third victim's wounds were not believed to life threatening.
Police have not issued the names of the victims who were killed. During a news conference Wednesday, Kenosha Police Chief Dan Miskinis described the victims as a 26-year-old Silver Lake resident and a 36-year-old Kenosha resident. Circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately clear, Miskinis said.
"Last night, a 17-year-old individual from Antioch, Illinois, was involved in the use of firearms to resolve whatever conflict was in place. The result of it was two people are dead," Miskinis said. "This is not a police action. This is not the action of those I believe who set out to do protests. It is the persons who were involved after legal time, involved in illegal activity that brought violence to this community."
Each of the people involved was out past the city's established curfew, Miskinis said.
"I’m not going to make a great deal of it, but the point is the curfew’s in place to protect," he said. "Had persons not been out in violation of that, perhaps the situation that unfolded would not have happened."
Beth told the Journal Sentinel that armed people had been patrolling the city's streets in recent nights, but he did not know if the gunman was among them.
Independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager captured the shooting on video and posted the footage to social media. The video shows a person holding an assault-rifle-style weapon as they run down a dimly lit road. A group of people chase after him, seemingly trying to stop him, while voices saying “What did he do?” and “he shot someone” can be heard in the background.
The gunman appears to trip and then fires his weapon as a person approaches him, the video shows. When another person manages to hold the gunman down on the pavement, the shooter points his weapon upward and fires a single shot toward the individual. Another person who was standing nearby backs away with his arms up and the gunman fires another shot. He then walks unobstructed toward police with his hands up.
During Wednesday's news conference, Beth said he'd received an inquiry on Tuesday about deputizing armed citizens.
"Yesterday, 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?' and I’m like ‘Oh, hell no.’ And what happened last night … is probably the perfect reason why I wouldn’t," Beth said. "I don’t know this for sure, but the incident that happened last night where two people lost their lives, I think they were part of this group that wanted me to deputize them."
Beth said he did not know whether Rittenhouse was among that group.
"There’s good protesters who come and pray and kneel and do all that stuff and they chant and I’ve got no issue with that – I was doing it several weeks ago," Beth said. "I’m good with that. But there are some – and we’ve got several – that come here from outside Kenosha. They come from Illinois. … They’re coming here. They have no desire to protest."
Rittenhouse, who had traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin to attend the protest, was at one point affiliated with a youth public safety program through the Grayslake Police Department, according to a statement the agency issued Wednesday.
"On [Wednesday] the Grayslake Police Department was notified that a former Public Safety Cadet, [youth program] was a possible suspect in a shooting in Kenosha, [WI,] last night," the department said. "Due to the subject’s age and Illinois State Law, we cannot make further comment on this matter except to say the Grayslake Police Department is fully cooperating with the FBI and Kenosha Police Department in their investigation."
At the time of his arrest, Rittenhouse was on furlough from his part-time position as a YMCA employee, according to a letter from YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago President and CEO Richard Malone emailed to staff.
According to the letter, Rittenhouse would not return as an employee and directed staff to resources that would help them "reflect and process the events in Kenosha and the ongoing civil unrest caused by police brutality of Black Americans."
A YMCA spokesperson said they do not comment specifically about individual employees, particularly minors, although she did confirm that the individual is a part-time employee who has been out on furlough since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We would like to add that we abhor the recent violence in Kenosha, WI. Our condolences go out to the families of the victims in this incident," said Man Yee Lee, spokeswoman for the YMCA of Metro Chicago. "The YMCA of Metro Chicago is committed to racial equality. We stand with the Black community against violence toward Black and Brown people, including police brutality. We also support the right to assemble to advocate against injustices prevalent in our society, including systemic racism."
Protests began earlier this year after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Demonstrations ignited again when cellphone video surfaced of Kenosha police shooting Blake – apparently while three of his children looked on.
Kenosha police are not equipped with body cameras and have said little about what happened during Sunday's shooting. The situation remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, the FBI, Wisconsin State Patrol and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, Kaul said.
The Division of Criminal Investigation is expected to prepare a report for prosecutors to review while determining whether charges are warranted. That report could be ready in as soon as 30 days, and would be made public if prosecutors choose not to charge the officer, Kaul said.
As for the shooting that killed two people on Tuesday, Urban League of Kenosha and Racine president and CEO James Halls said "we cannot continue to meet force with force."
"Having armed people in our city, that’s alright. We understand that. But those people with guns, the militia that are engaging people are not looking at them as people," Hall said. "They’re looking as these individuals as 'I need to protect my property.' Think about this: the property can be rebuilt. The lives cannot be rebuilt. Once a life is taken or destroyed it cannot be given back."
Blake, 29, underwent surgery Tuesday, said Ben Crump, the lawyer for Blake's family. He said the bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered his vertebrae. Another attorney said there also was severe damage to organs.
This is a developing story. Check www.nwherald.com for updates.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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