Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse called friend to say he had 'killed somebody', went on to shoot two others
The Kenosha shooting suspect, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, allegedly called a friend of his to tell them that he "killed somebody" and then proceeded to shoot two others, reports state. Rittenhouse, a White male, was seen holding a long rifle and wandering around the dark streets of Kenosha in a baseball cap and green T-shirt on Tuesday, August 25, as hundreds marched in protest against local resident Jacob Blake's shooting by a police officer. Blake was shot in the back seven times by the officer on Sunday, August 23, as his horrified children watched the tragedy unfold from his car.
As demonstrators marched demanding justice for Blake fighting for his life at a hospital, at times protesters and some armed civilians faced off. The scuffle, however, took a deadly turn when Rittenhouse opened fire, allegedly killing two people and wounding a third, according to a criminal complaint. Within minutes of the shooting, police and emergency services rushed to the scene and chaotic videos of the incident began emerging on social media. The suspect, however, had succeeded in slipping past a group of officers unnoticed. The teenager was later caught nearly 30 miles away in Antioch, Illinois and was arrested.
Rittenhouse is now facing charges of killing Anthony M Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. A criminal complaint said that just minutes before the shooting, he had told a journalist that he was a trained medic. Just moments before the deadly shooting, Rittenhouse was reportedly clashing with people gathered near a car dealership. Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, was among them and reportedly threw an object that appeared to be a plastic bag at the teen but missed, the complaint stated. Rosenbaum and the suspect then moved across the parking lot and appeared to be standing close to each other when loud bangs were heard and Rosenbaum fell on the ground.
The complaint alleges that as Rosenbaum lay on the ground, the suspect made a call from his cellphone and said, "I just killed somebody" as he ran away from the scene. Reports state that the teen's friend received the call from him at 11.46 pm on Tuesday, August 25. Rosenbaum was declared dead on Wednesday, August 26, at 12.47 am. A video of the incident also emerged showing the suspect running from the scene as people ran after him. One person in the video could be heard yelling "Hey, he shot him!" while another said "Get him! Get that dude!"
Investigators later confirmed that the gun Rittenhouse was carrying was a "Smith & Wesson AR-15 style .223 rifle," the criminal complaint said. According to his social media accounts, the 17-year-old appears to have an affinity for guns and supports Blue Lives Matter and President Donald Trump, even appearing at a front row for one of the Republican leader's rallies.
A brief video hearing on the case was held on Friday, August 28, as an Illinois judge agreed to postpone a decision on whether the teenager would be extradited to Wisconsin until at least September 25. Rittenhouse, however, did not appear at the hearing. The teen's attorney John Pierce, a noted conservative lawyer, has argued that his client acted in self-defense.