Kenosha: A 29-year Black man was shot several times on his back by the Wisconsin Police on Sunday evening. The incident sparked series of Black Lives Matter protests, in connection to the demonstrations that took place after the shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The shooting occurred around 5 pm and the incident was captured by people across the street, who later posted it online.
Witnesses said the man, later identified as Jacob Blake, had been trying to break up a fight when police arrived at the scene. Blake went to get into his vehicle when one cop grabbed him by the back of the T-shirt, and at least one opened fire. Seven shots were heard as bystanders screamed in horror.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is currently investigating the incident.
Neighbors immediately confronted police as Blake was rushed to the hospital and a small protest grew quickly as the video of the incident went viral. By midnight, vehicles were ablaze and windows were smashed by hundreds of protestors.
“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries,” Tony Evers, Governor of the state of Wisconsin tweeted on Monday.
Blake was “struggling to sustain his life,” family attorney Benjamin Crump said. “The medical diagnosis right now is that he is paralyzed and because those bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae… it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again,” Crump said.
Meanwhile, at least three people were shot by a White man with an assault rifle during the third night of protests in Kenosha, according to Wisconsin police. There was no word on their condition.