Kyle Rittenhouse, left, in Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday. He was charged Thursday with six criminal counts.
Photo: ADAM ROGAN/Associated PressWho is Kyle Rittenhouse?
Kyle Rittenhouse is a 17-year old Antioch, Ill., resident whom prosecutors have accused of fatally shooting two men and wounding another who were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He first came to public attention after videos posted on social media on Tuesday night showed him armed with a gun and running at the site of the shooting. At one point, he can be heard in a video saying, “I just killed somebody,” according to a complaint filed by the Kenosha County District Attorney.
Mr. Rittenhouse, currently in custody in Lake County, Ill., was charged Thursday with six criminal counts, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, recklessly endangering safety and possession of a dangerous weapon. Mr. Rittenhouse hasn’t entered a plea or commented and the public defender assigned to him didn’t respond to a request for comment. A judge will decide at a hearing on Sept. 25 whether Mr. Rittenhouse will be extradited to Wisconsin, where he would be tried as an adult. Mr. Rittenhouse could face life in prison if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide.
A photo on Mr. Rittenhouse’s now-deleted Facebook page showed him holding a rifle. The words “Blue Lives Matter” framed the photo. He attended Lakes Community High School for one semester in the 2017-18 school year, according to Jim McKay, superintendent of Community High School District 117, and was a former public-safety cadet.
Lawyers for Mr. Rittenhouse have said that the teen’s actions were self-defense against angry protesters. On Saturday, attorney John Pierce said on Twitter the teen was “a Minuteman protecting his community when the government would not.”
“More American men should fulfill their duty,” said Mr. Pierce. “He is a shining example of the American fighting spirit.”
Why was he in Kenosha, and what happened on Tuesday night?
In a video taken Tuesday night by Richard McGinniss, a journalist with the Daily Caller, Mr. Rittenhouse is seen with a rifle and a medic kit, saying he is out to protect local businesses. At that point, Kenosha had experienced violent unrest for two nights that left businesses burned, looted and damaged in response to a video that showed police shooting Mr. Blake in the back seven times.
“People are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business, and part of my job is to also help people,” Mr. Rittenhouse said in the video. “If there’s somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle, because I need to protect myself, but I also have my med kit.” Mr. McGinniss later witnessed Mr. Rittenhouse shooting and killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, according to a complaint filed by the Kenosha County District Attorney on Thursday. Mr. McGinniss didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
In another video posted to social media, a young man who appears to be Mr. Rittenhouse is seen with a group of men who the videographer says are part of a local militia out to protect businesses from looters. Some of the men stand on a roof with guns.
The complaint filed by prosecutors against Mr. Rittenhouse details what can be seen in video footage along with eyewitness accounts. It alleges that Mr. Rosenbaum tried to engage the teen, who ran away. Mr. Rosenbaum followed. According to the complaint, at some point, Mr. Rosenbaum threw a plastic bag at Mr. Rittenhouse but didn’t hit him. The complaint cites a witness who said he saw Mr. Rittenhouse fire three rounds at Mr. Rosenbaum before he was killed.
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At that point, the complaint, citing video, alleges that Mr. Rittenhouse made a phone call in which he said, “I just killed somebody.”
Prosecutors cite another video showing Mr. Rittenhouse running, as people yell about the shooting and chase him. Mr. Rittenhouse trips and falls to the ground, firing at Anthony Huber, who is holding a skateboard and is trying to grab Mr. Rittenhouse’s gun, the complaint alleges. The complaint said Mr. Huber was killed.
Mr. Rittenhouse also fired upon an approaching Gaige Grosskreutz, who was hit in the right arm, the complaint alleges. Mr. Grosskreutz appeared to be holding a handgun as he was shot. A lawyer for Mr. Grosskreutz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
How did the police respond?
In the video of the shooting, after Mr. Rittenhouse allegedly shot Mr. Huber, the teenager can be seen holding a long gun with his arms raised walking toward a police car. Police didn’t appear to stop him, although people in the background can be heard shouting that he just shot someone.
He was later arrested in his hometown by Antioch police.
On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and the national ACLU called for the immediate resignation of Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis and Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth over their response to Tuesday night’s shooting.
In response to reporters asking why police didn’t stop Mr. Rittenhouse at the scene, Mr. Beth said: “There’s screaming, there’s hollering, there’s chanting, there’s a squad car running…and there are people running all over the place, so that absolutely…I can picture all kinds of reasons I wouldn’t be focusing on someone doing that,” Mr. Beth said, adding that he wasn’t personally there at the time of the shooting.
Mr. Miskinis has been criticized by protesters and civil-rights groups over comments he has made, including a remark that armed civilians were out to “exercise their constitutional right and to potentially protect property,” and that he wouldn’t comment on the video of Mr. Blake’s shooting because it was just a “snippet of a very large situation.”
Activists have also condemned the police department over videos released on social media that showed Kenosha police officers offering water to a group of men, some of whom were armed, and thanking them. “We appreciate you guys, we really do,” one of the officers can be heard saying. A young man who appears to be Mr. Rittenhouse is with that group. It is illegal for someone under 18 to openly carry a weapon in Wisconsin.
In response to the criticism, Mr. Miskinis said at a news conference that his officers “would toss a water to anybody.”
Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com
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