The Shooting of Jacob Blake: A Timeline of Events

KENOSHA – The shooting of a 29-year old black man named Jacob Blake sparked civil unrest all over the country. Protests have become violent, which resulted in the shooting of three people and the arrest of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse.

Sunday, Aug 23: Shooting of Jacob Blake
In Kenosha, Washington at about 5 p.m., the police were responding to a reported domestic disturbance. A woman was claiming that “her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises.” Blake was there in attempts to deescalate the domestic incident. While all details are not immediately clear on what caused the situation to escalate, Blake walked over to the car to check on his kids who were inside, ages 3, 5, 8, opened the door, and leaned forward. That’s when the Kenosha Officer Rusten Shesky grabbed Blake by the shirt and fired seven shots into his back while his kids were still in the car. Police claim that Blake was armed with a knife and forcefully fought with the officers.

“We have so many students of color that makes me think about like, do they feel safe? I get really concerned when I’m like … could one of my students be in that situation? For me, that scares me,” explained Assistant Principal Andrew Daramola.

Monday, Aug 24: Violent protests
Once news and information on the shooting of Blake came out, forceful protests began in Kenosha, Washington. Protestors were allegedly looting and spraying graffiti on businesses, with one target of these demonstrations being the Kenosha courthouse. They were also setting fires to buildings, and once the National Guard and police arrived, protestors began throwing items such as water bottles at them. In an attempt to disperse the protestors, authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets. Protests continued the next day.

“It’s just sad that the protests have to consistently, you know, demand justice. Demand, you know, reform,” expressed Mr, Jackson, a 12th grade English teacher. “And unfortunately sometimes that just has to be for people to wake up and say that there is a problem and something’s wrong with it and we need to address it together.”

Tuesday, Aug 25: Kyle Rittenhouse shoots 3 people at the protest
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was at one of the protests walking around holding a long rifle, which the police did not stop or arrest him for at the protest. He claims he was there to protect a business. Around 11:45 p.m., Rittenhouse opened fire and shot three people, killing two and seriously injuring a third. The two people who were killed were Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. Apparently, Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum after getting in a confrontation with him where Rosenbaum was trying to take away his gun. A video shows people chasing Rittenhouse down the street, and after that is when Rittenhouse shot Huber, who was also trying to take his gun from him. After shooting Huber, Rittenhouse shot a third (Gaige Grosskreutz) and shot him in the right arm. Police raced to the scene, but a video shows the armed suspect walking past a group of officers in which they do nothing.

“Everyone knows that if Kyle were a black man, or just so happened to have a really nice tan holding that same rifle, he would have been arrested or shot down in the streets the instant an officer laid eyes on him,” said senior Tiffany Brown. “That’s just the way things have always been.”

Wednesday, Aug 26: Rittenhouse gets arrested
Police arrest Rittenhouse in his home in Antioch, Illinois, the next day. Five charges were filed against him in Kenosha court on Thursday, August 27. The charges are first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of recklessly endangering safety, and once count of possession of a dangerous weapon by someone under 18. Currently, there is a civil rights investigation that has been opened and is looking into the shooting from the U.S. Department of Justice.