MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Kyle Rittenhouse: New video shows Kenosha shooting suspect struggling with protesters and firing at them

The video, furnished by a nonprofit affiliated with Rittenhouse's defense team, was shown on Fox News' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'

Newly-released footage from the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last month could support the claim that 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was being attacked by demonstrators and opened fire in self-defense. The video, furnished by a nonprofit affiliated with Rittenhouse's defense team, was shown on Fox News' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' on Tuesday, September 22 and raised eyebrows about the events that led to two people being shot and killed and a third seriously injured on the night of August 28.

Rittenhouse is currently facing felony charges including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide. He has also been charged with "attempted first-degree intentional homicide, possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, and first-degree reckless endangerment," Fox News reported.

"His attorneys argue that Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Prosecutors in Wisconsin charged him with first-degree murder," host Tucker Carlson began, "but what is the truth about what happened that night?" Rittenhouse had reportedly been volunteering to remove graffiti from a local high school just hours before he went to Kenosha to help his friends protect local businesses from "protesters."

"That was the day that he found himself in downtown Kenosha in the middle of a riot," Carlson said. "He wound up face-to-face with a convicted child molester called Joseph Rosenbaum, apparently committing arson."

Rittenhouse is seen in footage running with a fire extinguisher, while Rosenbaum appears to chase after Rittenhouse before a single gunshot is heard. The 17-year-old appears to be surrounded but manages to squeeze four shots in Rosenbaum's direction. Three additional shots were reportedly fired by an unknown shooter just seconds later. One bullet "grazed Rosenbaum's head" while another "penetrated his right groin, his left thigh, and his back," per the report. "Kyle Rittenhouse fired four shots initially that night," Carlson noted. "Another four were fired. We still don't know who fired them, no one else has been arrested or charged."

An unidentified protester then appears to strike Rittenhouse in the head, causing him to fell to the group. Meanwhile, another protester tries to jump on Rittenhouse before he fires two shots into the air. At this point, a third protester smashes what appears to be a skateboard in the back of his head and tries to reach for his rifle. Rittenhouse then fires a single shot, hitting the man in the chest.

As seen in video, yet another protester is seen advancing towards Rittenhouse with a handgun aimed at him — before the 17-year-old fires a round that strikes the armed man in his bicep. "So that's what happened that night in Kenosha, on camera," Carlson concluded. "You can assess for yourself what you think of it. As we said tonight, only Kyle Rittenhouse has been charged, so the question before the court is, did Kyle Rittenhouse commit first-degree murder, or was it something else? Was it self-defense?"

Last week, we reported how Rittenhouse received more than $50,000 in donations from the National Foundation for Gun Rights (NFGR). The funds came as a result of more than 1,000 donations made to the NFGR to benefit the 17-year-old, as the gun-rights group announced on Thursday, September 17 that it is depositing the check into Rittenhouse’s trust fund administered by one of his attorneys.

Meanwhile, Rittenhouse remains in custody at an Illinois jail, where he has been held since his arrest just days after the shooting.