One shot dead and two wounded after BLM protesters defy curfew in Kenosha

Three people have been shot overnight, one fatally, during the third night of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

Footage posted online showed people running through the streets of Kenosha as gunshots rang out, while videos showed wounded men lying on the ground.

‘Three people had been shot, and one was killed,’ Sheriff David Beth of Kenosha County said, according to the New York Times.

The violence occurred as hundreds of protesters marched for a third night in anger after Jacob Blake was seen in video being shot up to seven times at point-blank range by a white Kenosha police officer on Sunday. 

Blake was trying to get into his car, with his three children inside, when he was shot.

At least one small group of mainly white, heavily armed men was in the city on Tuesday night vowing to protect property.

The New York Times reported police were investigating whether the Tuesday night’s shooting ‘stemmed from a conflict between self-styled militias guarding a gas station and demonstrators.’

Clashes between a group of demonstrators and police had broken out earlier, with protesters shooting fireworks at law enforcement officers who responded with rubber bullets. 

One video, verified by AFP and taken by photographer Alex Lourie, showed a man sitting on the ground bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to his arm as law enforcement vehicles approached him with officers shouting: ‘Back it up’ to onlookers. The injured man was helped to his feet by the officers.

Another showed footage of a man, who appeared to be carrying a rifle, falling to the ground before several gunshots could be heard as people fled from the scene telling one another to take cover.

An additional clip, posted by the Elijah Riot, showed a man – who had allegedly tried to loot a car shop –  laying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head with a group of people trying to stem the blood flow from the injury. 

It is currently unconfirmed which of the shootings resulted in a fatality.  

An AFP reporter saw several civilians carrying weapons on Tuesday night, and little police presence in the city aside from the courthouse which was being guarded by the Kenosha County sheriff. 

Another photograph shows a man on the floor laying on the floor after having reportedly been shot in the chest. 

Protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake entered their third night in Kenosha on Tuesday as crowds gathered outside the county courthouse and clashed with police, throwing bottles and fireworks at officers. 

About 300 demonstrators defied the city’s 8pm curfew again after Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency earlier following a night of violence and destruction that saw rioters set fire to businesses and vehicles across the city. 

Kenosha has become the nation’s latest flashpoint in a summer of racial unrest after police officers shot 29-year-old Blake, an unarmed black man, multiple times in the back during a confrontation on Sunday, leaving him paralyzed.

The shooting comes three months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis which sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. 

As tensions flared for a third night, police in riot gear fired rubber bullets, tear gas and flash-bang rounds as they skirmished after dark with defiant demonstrators outside a courthouse and adjacent park in downtown Kenosha.

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The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department also deployed at least four armored patrol vehicles fitted with roof turrets from which deputies fired tear gas canisters into the crowd, many of whom hurled water bottles, bricks, firecrackers and other objects back at police.

But there was no immediate sign of buildings or cars being set ablaze, as happened on Monday night.

Demonstrators, some of whom were wearing helmets and equipped with makeshift protective gear, were seen trying to storm a black iron fence that had been installed earlier to protect the court from rioters. 

Meanwhile, officers dressed in riot gear stood guard behind the barrier, holding up shields as protesters shouted expletives and hurled bottles at them. 

Footage from the scene also showed people throwing fireworks in the direction of cops as they ignored their orders to disperse. 

In one video shared by a journalist on Twitter, one man was seen trying to set fire to an American flag before being deterred by pepperballs fired by police.  

Kenosha County sheriffs deputies warned crowds over loud speaker that they were participating in an unlawful gathering while urging them to leave the area. 

The crowd responded by chanting ‘black lives matter’, prompting police to fire rubber bullets. 

Several military-style armored patrol vehicles were also called in and were seen maneuvering around the county courthouse, firing tear gas at the crowd.

About three hours after declaring the protest an unlawful assembly, authorities had managed to push Tuesday night’s crowd out of the downtown park, with demonstrators scattering down streets. 

The disturbances came hours after Governor Evers vowed to deploy additional National Guard troops in a bid to restore order in the town, while Blake’s mother publicly appealed for calm during a press conference held outside the court.    

On Tuesday, President Trump, who has consistently denounced the BLM protests that have rocked the country in recent months, urged Wisconsin officials to call in the National Guard to quell the unrest, despite troops already being on the ground. 

‘Governor should call in the National Guard in Wisconsin. It is ready, willing, and more than able. End problem FAST!’ Trump tweeted. 

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows later revealed Governor Evers had turned down Trump’s offer for federal assistance, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. 

A spokeswoman for Evers told the paper: ‘The governor informed them that we would be increasing Wisconsin National Guard support in Kenosha and therefore would not need federal assistance in response to protests but would welcome additional federal support and resources for our state’s response to COVID-19.’ 

Blake, 29, a father of six, was struck from behind at point-blank range in a hail of bullets fired on Sunday by police who were following him with guns drawn as he walked away from officers to his car and opened a door to the vehicle.

Three of his young sons inside the automobile – aged three, five and eight – witnessed their father being gunned down, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Blake family.

A bystander captured the encounter in video footage that immediately went viral, unleashing outrage over the latest in a long series of instances in which police have been accused of using indiscriminate lethal force against African Americans.

Blake, who had been attempting to break up a quarrel between two women, was struck by multiple gunshots fired at him, all by one officer.  

Crump also revealed Blake was undergoing surgery for his injuries, adding that the bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered his vertebrae. Another attorney said there was also severe damage to organs.

‘It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr to ever walk again,’ Crump said.

The legal team plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting.

Police have not explained why Blake was shot.

At a news conference earlier in the day, Blake’s parents expressed anguish over the shooting while decrying two previous nights of looting, vandalism and arson that overshadowed peaceful street protests.

‘They shot my son seven times, seven times, like he didn’t matter,’ Jacobv Blake Sr said tearfully as he spoke to reporters alongside other family members and lawyers. 

‘But my son matters. He’s a human being and he matters.’ 

Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, said the damage in Kenosha does not reflect what her family wants and that, if her son could see it, he would be ‘very unpleased.’ 

After a night during which protests devolved into unrest, Gov. Evers had called for calm Tuesday saying: ‘We cannot allow the cycle of systemic racism and injustice to continue.’

‘We also cannot continue going down this path of damage and destruction.’

The night before crowds destroyed dozens of buildings and set more than 30 fires in the southeastern Wisconsin city’s downtown. 

On Monday, heavily armed residents were also seen standing guard outside buildings and local shops in case they were targeted by rioters. 

In footage shared online, a group of men were seen carrying rifles and wearing combat gear as they protect local shops. They denied they are part of a militia.