Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse paid for rifle he used to kill 2 men using Covid-19 stimulus check for $1,200
In the latest twist to the horrific crimes of Kenosha gunman Kyle Rittenhouse, it has been reported that the 17-year-old paid for the rifle that he had allegedly used to fatally shoot two men using a stimulus check for $1,200.
Rittenhouse, who hails from Illinois has been accused of killing two people on August 25 during the Kenosha protests when people were outraged at the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Peaceful protests had taken place during the day after Blake had been left paralyzed but riots and unrest took over at night.
The teen shooter who has been suspected of the shooting, participated in a jailhouse interview with the Washington Post and revealed that the government pay out bought his gun. He had shared, "I got my $1,200 from the coronavirus Illinois unemployment 'cause I was on furlough from YMCA."
"I got my first unemployment check so I was like 'oh, I'll use this to buy it'," he added. According to statements made to the police, a family friend and Kenosha resident Dominic Black bought the rifle for Rittenhouse in the spring of 2020. Given that he was a minor, he was only allowed to shoot it for target practice under adult supervision but was not permitted to own or carry the weapon under Wisconsin law.
Black spoke to authorities and said that Rittenhouse would keep the gun at his father's house and they would only take it out to go hunting "up north". He added that Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy, was supposed to get a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card and that the rifle would be transferred to her, according to his police statements.
Last month, prosecutors shared that Rittenhouse had never possessed the gun used in the shooting. Rittenhouse said that he and Black were going to have the ownership transferred to Rittenhouse when he came of age. While speaking to The Post, he said, "No, I don't regret [carrying a gun that night]. I feel I had to protect myself."
"I would have died that night if I didn’t," he added. He shared that he and Black had intended on helping a friend Nick Smith who told them a local car dealership Car Source needed help protecting their business from people who were rioting.
On the day of the shooting, Rittenhouse said that he was under the impression that he was just watching over the businesses and helping to provide first aid to people. "I was going into a place where people had guns. And God forbid, somebody brought a gun to me and decided to shoot me, like I wanted to be protected, which I ended up having to protect myself."
Rittenhouse allegedly killed 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber. The suspect has now been charged with two counts of homicide that killed Rosenbaum and Huber, injured 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz and four other charges in connection with the Kenosha protest shootings.
Rittenhouse told officers he had been hired to protect a business in Kenosha. However, the owner of the business, Car Source, told the Journal Sentinel that he did not hire anyone to act as armed security.