Two civilians are now dead and one is seriously injured after a shooting late Tuesday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on the third night of protests over the shooting of Kenosha native Jacob Blake. 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested Wednesday morning after Wisconsin authorities issued an arrest warrant charging the teenager with first-degree intentional homicide, according to both Antioch police and reporting from CNN.
Community High School District 117 Superintendent James McKay and Antioch Community High School administration were notified by police “that two individuals involved in a deadly incident reside in Antioch.” To clarify, only one of those individuals, Rittenhouse, is accused of being involved in the shooting near 63rd Street and Sheridan Road.
“Upon hearing concerns from our student body and members of our community, we felt it necessary to inform the public that they will see an increase in police presence around the school,” ACHS Principal Eric Hamilton wrote in a statement to The Tom Tom. “We are working closely with our local police department and given the age of these students we wanted to assure our community that while these people reside in Antioch they do not attend our schools. In reviewing our records, one student attended Lakes Community High School for a short period of time in the 2017-18 school year.”
In learning the identity of the suspect currently in custody, it should be noted that Rittenhouse has no affiliation with Antioch Community High School.
The shooting occurred after police dispersed violent protestors from the Kenosha County Courthouse toward a gas station near the intersection. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Rittenhouse was interviewed by a conservative news source The Blaze. In the interview he said, “he and the other vigilantes were in Kenosha ‘protecting from the citizens.’” In a different interview he elaborated, “People are getting injured and our job is to protect this business. And part of my job is to also help people. If there’s somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle because I need to protect myself, obviously.”
Both violent and nonviolent protests were then met by armed civilians protecting the gas station, expressing their personal duty to protect local businesses, according to the Washington Post. Video and personal accounts of the shooting tell a blurry story; however, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that one victim had been shot in the chest and another in the head. Video later posted on social media showed a third victim getting shot in the arm. Beth suspects Rittenhouse and the armed civilians as a vigilante militia group.
Rittenhouse is currently in the custody of the Lake County Judicial System pending an extradition hearing to transfer him from Illinois to Wisconsin. The victims have not yet been identified.
A number of students were affected by what is happening both in Kenosha and the town, some even visibly crying in their Google Meet class sessions today. ACHS Assistant Principal for Student Services Scott Leverentz reached out to ACHS students offering support for those mentally and emotionally struggling during this time.
All information mentioned above is current at the time posted. Updates will be added as we get more information.
