Update: More information about Kyle Rittenhouse’s shootings has come to light after the publication of this article. An update at the bottom sets the record straight.
Amid violent Black Lives Matter riots and arson in Kenosha, Wisc., on Tuesday night, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse opened fire at looters in two separate instances, killing two people and injuring a third. Police arrested Rittenhouse on Wednesday after cops apparently congratulated him on Tuesday night. Early reports suggest Rittenhouse shot one man in the head while the victim was looting a car shop, but his second shooting appeared to involve self-defense after looters threw a Molotov cocktail at him.
Rittenhouse came from Antioch, Ill., which is only 15 miles away from Kenosha, the Associated Press reported. Authorities arrested him on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide.
Blaze TV’s Elijah Schaffer reported the first shooting, showing footage of the aftermath. It seems Rittenhouse shot a white man in the head while the victim was looting a car shop.
BREAKING they shot someone in the head at the #KENOSHA riot RIGHT NOW
I repeat someone has been shot in what appears to be the head while looting a car shop
I can not confirm the exact wound location but he’s white and losing a lot of blood
I will update who shot him! pic.twitter.com/xZ6v5mpI82
— ELIJAH RIOT (@ElijahSchaffer) August 26, 2020
Shaffer later explained that in the minutes before the shooting, rioters used drones and bats to destroy vehicles, and lit multiple cars on fire. Ironically, one of the rioters operated the shop and he tried to stop his Black Lives Matter allies from destroying his property.
CLIP 3: as I approached the car being lit on fire multiple rioters were destroying a silver sedan using metal bats pic.twitter.com/gvkVQNjgg5
— ELIJAH RIOT (@ElijahSchaffer) August 26, 2020
Armed Citizens Gear Up to Defend Businesses as BLM Rioters Burn Kenosha, Target Cops
Shaffer also noted that “the alleged shooter was defending the property.”
This context does not excuse what appears to have been a vigilante assassination.
However, the second shooting appears to have involved self-defense. Townhall’s Julio Rosas reported seeing a Black Lives Matter mob chasing Rittenhouse. After Rittenhouse tripped and fell, the rioters shouted, “Get his *ss!” Then the man appears to have shot one of the rioters in self-defense.
🚨🚨🚨: Multiple gunshots are fired after people chased a guy with a rifle. Rifle dude tripped and fell. He fired his gun at a guy who jumped on top of him. pic.twitter.com/BfV244MMnc
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 26, 2020
Videos from other angles also suggest Rittenhouse fired the second round of shots in self-defense.
This is slow motion of the incident last night, What do you think? pic.twitter.com/BuJBAXzmN5
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) August 26, 2020
Wisconsin law does allow for violence in self-defense.
For those wondering, here is the law in Wisconsin concerning defense of self and property (939.48): pic.twitter.com/Vde1Vp7SaT
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 26, 2020
Rittenhouse also spoke with Schaffer earlier in the night, explaining that he went to Kenosha to defend property.
CONTEXT: I spoke with the alleged shooter earlier in the night who stated he was there to protect property
He did not make racist comments, condemn #BLM, or mention political motivations for his actions
He said that he was there to protect property & was carrying a firearm pic.twitter.com/ViYUB65tiy
— ELIJAH RIOT (@ElijahSchaffer) August 26, 2020
Rittenhouse works as a lifeguard at a YMCA in Illinois. He has used his Facebook page to support the Blue Lives Matter movement.
In the seeming absence of police during the riots, armed citizens have taken up the cause of defending property and limiting the violence of the rioters. Before these shootings, rioters harassed armed citizens who attempted to defend local businesses.
Rioters are getting into confrontations with armed citizens who are out here to prevent looting and destruction to businesses. pic.twitter.com/f65YkP24kG
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 26, 2020
Gov. Tony Evers (D-Wisc.), who has championed the Black Lives Matter cause and condemned the police shooting of Jacob Blake which incited the Kenosha riots, expressed sympathy for the families of the victims and condemned violence against people — but not the violence against property that rioters have wreaked for the past few nights. He did request that protesters make their voices heard peacefully, however.
“My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the two individuals who lost their lives and the individual who was injured last night in Kenosha. We as a state are mourning this tragedy,” Evers tweeted. “I want to be very clear: we should not tolerate violence against any person. I’m grateful there has already been swift action to arrest one person involved. The individual or individuals whose actions resulted in this tragic loss of life must be held accountable.”
I want to be very clear: we should not tolerate violence against any person. I’m grateful there has already been swift action to arrest one person involved. The individual or individuals whose actions resulted in this tragic loss of life must be held accountable.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) August 26, 2020
The violent riots and arson in Kenosha are terrifying, and it makes sense that citizens would arm themselves to curb the destruction. That does not justify Rittenhouse’s first shooting, however. Police arguably should have arrested the man right after the shootings.
Instead, they reportedly allowed him to go home. That does not suggest inherent racism, as some on the Left have claimed. The cops may have a bias in favor of a vigilante trying to stop the rioting over the rioters themselves. Even so, they should have arrested Rittenhouse after the shootings.
Update August 27, 2020, 6:05 p.m.:
The New York Times analyzed Rittenhouse’s movements throughout the night and found that in both of the shootings, the boy was acting in self-defense.
The Times synchronized six livestreams, revealing that there were two separate shooting incidents, one and a half minutes apart, involving multiple gunmen.
At 11:19 p.m., rioters chase Rittenhouse into a parking lot. While the rioters pursue him, one throws something toward Rittenhouse and an unknown gunman fires the first shot into the air.
At 23:19, Rittenhouse is seen in this YouTube livestream. He's being chased into a parking lot. While he is being pursued, an unknown gunman fires the first shot into the air. pic.twitter.com/BSD8rd6ARN
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
In the video, “Rittenhouse turns toward the sound of the gunfire as another pursuer lunges toward him. He then fires four times with his assault rifle, and appears to shoot the man in the head,” Triebert narrated. Contrary to my initial reporting (above) from preliminary information, it appears Rittenhouse was not the first one to open fire, and he only pulled the trigger after getting pursued by an angry mob.
The muzzle flash of the first shot by the unknown gunman and the smoke rising from the handgun can be seen in this video capturing the first shooting from a different angle. pic.twitter.com/ddRjsgiMN7
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
Also contrary to my previous reporting, this shooting did not take place at the dealership Rittenhouse said he was protecting but rather at a separate dealership about four blocks away. Police had prevented the 17-year-old boy from returning to the original dealership.
Police identified the man shot in the head as Joseph Rosenbaum, a white registered sex-offender who taunted armed black civilians, saying, “shoot me, n***a.”
Even during the second shooting, Rittenhouse was not the only one to open fire. A video recorded another eight shots fired nearby at roughly the same time.
Rittenhouse arguably should not have sought out trouble in Kenosha, but he appears to have been acting in self-defense during both shootings.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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