On the the third night since the police shooting that left Jacob Blake severely injured, demonstrators in Kenosha again defied curfew and were confronted by officers in riot gear who fired tear gas into the crowd.
An overnight shooting left one dead and two others wounded, according to reports in The New York Times. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told The Times shots rang out along a street near a gas station early Wednesday. The sheriff’s office is investigating whether the shooting resulted from a conflict between demonstrators and a group of men with weapons who were protecting businesses.
On Tuesday, Blake’s family called for peaceful protests, condemning the destruction that the city of Kenosha has seen over the past nights, including buildings and cars set ablaze. Following the first two nights of unrest, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency and upped the number of National Guard members deployed to Kenosha County to 250.
“As I was riding through here, through this city, I noticed a lot of damage that doesn’t reflect my son or my family,” Julia Jackson, Blake’s mother, said. “If Jacob knew what was going on as far as that goes, the violence and the destruction, he would be very unpleased.”
Blake, a Black man, was shot by police Sunday evening, after his attorney Ben Crump says he tried to break up an argument between two women. A video filmed by a man from across the street shows an officer following Blake at close range and pulling on his tank top as Blake tried to enter an SUV. Seven shots are heard. In the SUV were Blake’s three children, the attorney has previously said.
Blake underwent surgery Tuesday afternoon and his family says he is now paralyzed from the waist down. His shooting — like several others in recent months — sparked nationwide demonstrations, with protesters demanding police reform. After George Floyd died in Minneapolis as police pressed a knee to his neck, demonstrations across the country lasted for weeks and in many cities, never stopped.
