17-year-old charged with murder of two demonstrators in Wisconsin - here's what happened

Protests have been t aking place in  Kenosha, Wisconsin since Sunday night (Getty Images)Protests have been t aking place in  Kenosha, Wisconsin since Sunday night (Getty Images)
Protests have been t aking place in Kenosha, Wisconsin since Sunday night (Getty Images)

Protests have gripped the city of Kenosha Wisconsin since black man Jacob Blake was shot in the back by a police officer seven times.

On Tuesday the protests turned violent with two shot dead during a third night of unrest in the city of 100,000.

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A 17-year-old, Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch Illinois, has been arrested and charged with homicide following the incident.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said that the focus of an investigation into the shooting will focus on a group of men armed outside a petrol station.

What happened on Tuesday night in Kenosha?

On Tuesday crowds in Kenosha gathered for a third night to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was paralysed from the waist down following Sunday night’s shooting.

According to witnesses at the scene, clashes between demonstrators and a gang of armed white men guarding a petrol station - some of whom were wearing body armour - became increasingly heated.

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Police had used tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the two groups.

At 11.45pm local time Kenosha police revealed "reports of shots being fired and multiple gunshot victims".

A statement from the police department stated: "the shooting resulted in two fatalities and a third gunshot victim was transported to a hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.”

Video of chaotic scenes in the Wisconsin city began surfacing on social media, appearing to show the shooting taking place.

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In one clip the gunman can be seen being chased down by protestors before gunshots ring out. Other footage shows armed men standing outside businesses they claim they are trying to protect.

Following the shooting crowds dispersed in the city.

On Wednesday night Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

What’s the latest on Jacob Blake?

Jacob Blake’s father confirmed that his son was paralysed as a result of the shooting.

He said there were now “eight holes” in his son, and it was unclear if he would recover from his injuries.

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He told the Chicago Sun Times: “I want to put my hand on my son’s cheek and kiss him on his forehead, and then I’ll be OK,” his father said. “I’ll kiss him with my mask. The first thing I want to do is touch my son.”

He also pleaded: "What justified all those shots? What justified doing that in front of my grandsons? What are we doing?"

Lawyers have said that Jacob Blake will need a miracle to walk again, after one of the bullets went through his spinal cord.

Lawyer Ben Crump said: "His family believe in miracles, but the medical diagnosis right now is that he is paralysed and, because those bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae, it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr to ever walk again.”

Lawyers also revealed that most of Blake’s colon and small intestine had to be removed while he also suffered injuries to the stomach, arm, kidney and liver.

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