KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, were mostly peaceful following the arrest of a 17-year-old police admirer accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a chaotic night of demonstrations and unrest.
As of early Thursday, there were no groups patrolling with long guns as there were during previous nights of protests over the Sunday shooting of Blake, who was left paralyzed. Protesters also stayed away from a courthouse that had been the site of standoffs with law enforcement.
Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from Kenosha, was taken into custody on Wednesday in Illinois on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide in shootings late Tuesday that were largely captured on cellphone video.
“I just killed somebody,” the gunman, carrying a semi-automatic rifle, could be heard saying at one point while jogging away from a man who had just been fatally shot in the head.
In the wake of the killings, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers authorized the deployment of 500 members of the National Guard to Kenosha, doubling the number of troops in the city of 100,000 midway between Milwaukee and Chicago. The governor’s office said he is working with other states to bring in additional National Guard members and law officers. Authorities also announced a 7 p.m. curfew, though protesters ignored it again Wednesday.