Two dead as gunfire erupts at Wisconsin protests
(Reuters) - A 17-year-old was arrested and charged with homicide on Wednesday in connection with gunfire that killed two people and wounded a third during protests over the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, officials said.
The lakeside city of Kenosha has been rocked by civil unrest since Sunday, when police shot Jacob Blake, 29, in the back at close range. The incident, captured on video, has reignited protests over racism and police use of force in the United States.
The third night of protests in the city of 100,000 between Milwaukee and Chicago erupted in gunfire shortly before midnight, prompting some elected officials to call for a reinforcement of National Guard troops or the deployment of federal law enforcement officers.
Republican President Donald Trump on Wednesday said had spoken with Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, who had agreed to accept U.S. law enforcement support.
“TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!” Trump wrote on Twitter, without elaborating.
The violence coincided with the second night of the Republican National Convention, in which Trump has made “law and order” crackdowns on protest violence a campaign theme.
The suspect was identified as Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, who was arrested on a warrant in Illinois and charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Kenosha, a Lake County court official said.
Police in Antioch, Illinois, confirmed a 17-year-old had been arrested in connection with the Kenosha gunfire and was being held by the Lake County judicial system.
The first two nights of protests in Kenosha were overtaken by outbreaks of vandalism and arson that destroyed several businesses. On the third night it turned deadly.
It was unclear what set off the gunfire, but the streets of Kenosha were teeming with a combustible mix of protesters and armed militia members, who had been guarding local businesses.
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