Teen arrested in Kenosha protest shooting

Police took 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois into custody on Wednesday on suspicion of killing two people in Kenosha, Wis. Cellphone video from Tuesday night showed a young man walking through the middle of a street and opening fire on protesters. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said a “vigilante group” of armed individuals had been patrolling the city’s streets during riots and protests sparked by Sunday’s police shooting of Jacob Blake. Protests on Wednesday night were mostly peaceful.

What’s the latest on the police shooting? The Wisconsin Department of Justice said Wednesday Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Shesky shot Blake seven times and has been placed on administrative leave. According to the agency’s statement, a woman called police reporting her boyfriend was present but was not supposed to be on the premises. Officers tried to arrest Blake, including using a taser, but it did not work. As Blake opened the door of his car and leaned in, Sheskey grabbed his shirt and fired seven shots into his back. Blake told police afterward he had a knife in the car, and officers later recovered one from the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle.

Dig deeper: Read J.C. Derrick’s interview with a history professor on the United States’ complicated racial past.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.