Who is Kyle Rittenhouse? Accused Kenosha shooter loves police, guns, Trump
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Who is Kyle Rittenhouse? Accused Kenosha shooter loves police, guns, Trump
WATCH: WARNING — Video contains disturbing content. Viewer discretion is advised. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, has been arrested after two people were fatally shot and another injured in Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday night, during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Kyle Rittenhouse , the 17-year-old accused of fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during protests over police brutality in Kenosha, Wis., is a fan of law enforcement and a gun lover who sat in the front row at a rally for U.S. President Donald Trump , according to reports and his own social media posts.
Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide on Wednesday after allegedly shooting protesters with an AR-15-style assault rifle on Tuesday night. He is expected to be extradited from his hometown of Antioch, Ill., to Wisconsin to be tried as an adult.
A 26-year-old from Silver Lake, Wis., and a 36-year-old from Kenosha were killed, while a 36-year-old from West Allis, Wis., is expected to survive his injuries.
Rittenhouse was a high school dropout-turned-lifeguard whose mom once sought a court order to protect him from bullies at school, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and documents obtained by the Chicago Tribune . He was also fixated on police, his social media accounts show. He frequently posted “Blue Lives Matter” images and captions, used his 16th birthday to raise money for a police non-profit and enrolled in police and fire cadet programs in his community, the Washington Post reports.
Rittenhouse appeared to be part of an armed militia group standing guard outside a gas station in Kenosha on the night of the shootings, videos show.
In Wisconsin, it is legal for people 18 and over to openly carry a gun without a licence.
This still image from video shows a young man who identified himself as ‘Kyle,’ right, outside a gas station with militia late Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Kristian T Harris/Facebook
Footage from Tuesday night shows the suspect running after the first incident, which left one victim with a fatal head wound outside the gas station. “I just killed somebody,” a voice says in the video.
A suspected gunman is shown in Kenosha, Wis., after a protester was shot on Aug. 25, 2020. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Another video shows the suspect walking toward police after the shooting and briefly raising his hands. The rifle is still strapped across his chest and a bystander can be heard shouting: “Hey, he just shot them! Dude right here just shot all of them down there!”
Several police vehicles drove past him. One officer told him not to walk down a particular street. He was not apprehended at the scene and seemingly went home to Antioch.
The protests were sparked by the case of Jacob Blake , a Black man who was shot in the back several times by police while he tried to get into his SUV. His kids were in the back seat at the time of the shooting, which left Blake in serious condition. As of this writing, he remains in hospital, and according to his father is paralyzed from the waist down .
:24 Video shows police in Wisconsin shooting Black man from behind Video shows police in Wisconsin shooting Black man from behind
Rittenhouse was arrested on a fugitive warrant in Antioch one day after the shooting. Police imposed a curfew amid talk of protests in the town, which is about 30 kilometres away from Kenosha across a state line.
Social media posts obtained by Storyful and other outlets show that Rittenhouse was an enthusiastic supporter of police. He often shared Blue Lives Matter posters and slogans on Facebook, and appeared on his mother’s Facebook page in a police uniform.
Kyle Rittenhouse is shown with his mother in an image posted on her Facebook page on July 11. Wendy Lewis/Facebook via Storyful
Another post shows Rittenhouse standing with an AR-15 on May 4. The image, which also shows him wearing star-spangled Crocs, appears to have been used as his cover photo on Facebook and TikTok before those accounts were removed on Wednesday.
Kyle Rittenhouse is shown with an AR-15-style rifle in this image from his Facebook page on May 4, 2020. Kyle Rittenhouse/Facebook via Storyful
Rittenhouse also posted videos on TikTok and Instagram of himself firing the weapon, Storyful reports.
“Bruh I’m just tryna be famous,” The description on his Instagram account said, according to Storyful screenshots. “Trump 2020 us. BLUE LIVES MATTER.”
Footage on his now-deleted TikTok shows he was in the front row for a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa, in late January, Storyful reports. A person matching Rittenhouse’s description and posts can be seen in C-SPAN footage from the event, as Buzzfeed News first reported.
Kyle Rittenhouse can be seen in the crowd at a Trump rally at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 30, 2020. C-SPAN
Trump on Wednesday denounced “looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness in American streets,” but did not mention the fatal shootings on Twitter . He added that he was sending the National Guard to Kenosha “to restore LAW and ORDER!”
“People are getting injured and our job is to protect this business, and part of my job is to also help people,” he told the Daily Caller, a conservative news opinion site, in video posted on Twitter. “If there’s somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my weapon, because I need to protect myself, obviously. But I also have my med kit.”
An officer inside an armoured vehicle can be heard telling a protester to disperse because of the city’s curfew. He then tells the militia members over a loudspeaker: “We appreciate you guys. We really do.”
An officer can be seen throwing bottled water to the group from the hatch of the vehicle.
“We are unaware if the armed citizen was answering the Kenosha Guard Militia’s call to arms,” the group wrote in a statement before its Facebook page was removed. “Just like with the shooting of Jacob Blake, we need all the facts and evidence to come out before we make a judgement.”
Suspected gunman, 17, charged in fatal shooting at Jacob Blake protests in Kenosha, Wisc.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said Wednesday that militia members or armed vigilantes had been patrolling the city’s streets in recent nights and asked about being deputized.
“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 am like, ‘Oh, hell no.’”
Rittenhouse is due to appear in court on Friday.
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Little freaking psycho.
Some in the right wing have gone completely bat shit insane.
Defending this psycho actually killing people, feeling sorry for him and even trying to shift blame to who he killed.
This is the kind of person that I talked about yesterday. This is not the kind of person we should want in Law Enforcement. He's obsessed with being a police officer, but instead of staying school, he drops out. Now he will never become what he obsessed over probably his entire life (a cop).
However, I am glad that the vile little vermin has been removed from society for at least a while while the investigation takes place.
I think this is a sad story. The kid somehow became obsessed with the idea of himself as a hero using guns to protect people. He even told an interviewer in Kenosha that it was his "job". Antioch Illinois is a somewhat rural area an hour outside of Chicago where the people are hunters and fishermen who like their guns. Its not a surprise there may be a militia element there.
It's very sad. The kid thought he was doing his civic duty and is going to end up either in jail or a target for half the country.
I feel sorry for him in a way too, but you make it sound like there was a good reason for him to be there. There wasnt.
If he HAD to be there the only thing he should have done is stand in front of a building. Not run around and wander all over the place.
No, he shouldn't have been there.
Jesus how old could he possible be there, 7?