17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after killing two people in the recent Kenosha riots and injuring a third.
The night of the shootings, Rittenhouse was caught on camera on multiple occasions.
In a video from earlier in the evening, Rittenhouse, an aspiring police officer and former cadet himself, is seen among police officers, wearing a green t-shirt. An officer off-camera can be heard thanking Rittenhouse for being there to help with the protesters, and Rittenhouse is given several bottles of water.
Cell phone footage shows Kenosha police telling armed insurrectionists, “We appreciate you guys. We really do,” and giving them bottles of water. Shortly after this video was taken, one of these men shot and killed two protesters and wounded another.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) August 26, 2020
Little did they know, Rittenhouse would be involved in an altercation that would escalate to two murders just minutes later.
In the next video, Rittenhouse appears to be chased by an unidentified man. The two men disappear behind a vehicle when gunshots go off. The next time Rittenhouse appears, the other man is on the ground, and Rittenhouse is making a phone call, saying that he shot someone.
Shots fired in #Kenosha .. man down pic.twitter.com/lwsYLDWPln
— wlctv.ca (@wlctv_ca) August 26, 2020
The evening continued to escalate as Rittenhouse left the scene, seeking out a group of police officers in Bearcat vehicles at the end of the street.
Rittenhouse is caught on camera again, running down the street with his gun in full view, being pursued by a group of protesters who saw him shoot the man in the parking lot.
When several people attempted to apprehend him, Rittenhouse began firing his gun. He shot one protester, who appears unmoving on the ground in the video, and was later pronounced dead. He also shot another person in the arm, who was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Once the protesters distanced themselves, Rittenhouse continued down the street, only once pointing his gun in the direction of the protesters when gunshots were heard in the distance. He kept his gun on display and put his hands in the air throughout the rest of his walk toward the Bearcats.
Upon reaching them, however, he was ignored. The Bearcats pulled away from the curb and went around Rittenhouse, heading back in the direction he had come from, toward the protesters.
(Warning, Graphic/Violent)
A crowd chases a suspected shooter down in Kenosha. He trips and falls, then turns with the gun and fires several times. Shots can be heard fired elsewhere as well, corroborating reports of multiple shooters tonight #Kenosha #KenoshaRiots pic.twitter.com/qqsYWmngFW— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 26, 2020
After not being apprehended by the police, Rittenhouse left the protest and returned home in Antioch, Illinois.
Those following the investigation on Twitter were mortified that Rittenhouse was able to go home that night.
Police officers saw a 17 year old bring an automatic rifle to a protest and gave him water and thanked him for coming. Minutes later he murdered two citizens. This was a state-sanctioned massacre.
— Emé Bentancur (@EmeBent) August 26, 2020
Only in America can an armed white man walk up to police officers after he just shot protestors without having to worry about being shot. Let this have been anybody else and they would have unloaded.
— Black Lives Matter for 2020 (@Rickie99_) August 26, 2020
The police in those 4 vehicles who show up after the shooting & just let him walk away should all be fired.
The shooter walked down the middle of the road toward FOUR police vehicles. Three just drive right by him. The fourth vehicle he gets very close to but then backs away.
— 🏳️🌈 Pam 🏳️🌈 🆘 (@pm_mcdaniel) August 26, 2020
Did i just see this right??? Did u tell them that was the suspect and they didnt stop him??? Wtf? He just basically put his hands up and surrendered. Am i right? Or confused? Lol
— Mel F (@MelF24332896) August 26, 2020
The shooting occurred on Tuesday evening, and Rittenhouse was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
He is currently being held at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center near Vernon Hills. A date has not been released for Rittenhouse to appear in court for his official hearing.