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Kenosha shootings: What happened in Kyle Rittenhouse case and some reactions
Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and fired a bullet that tore a chunk off the arm of Gaige Grosskreutz, 28.
US teenager Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of murder in the fatal shooting of two men during racial justice protests in Kenosha in a decision that has sparked fierce debate about gun rights, racial injustice and the boundaries of self-defence yet again in the country.
Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges by jurors: two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide for wounding a third man, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety in protests marred by arson, rioting and looting on August 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
If found guilty, the 18-year-old could have been handed life in prison on the most serious charge, first-degree intentional homicide, or what some other states call first-degree murder. And the two other charges each carried over 60 years behind bars.
"We are all so very happy that Kyle can live his life as a free and innocent man, but in this whole situation there are no winners, there are two people who lost their lives and that's not lost on us at all," David Hancock, a spokesperson for the Rittenhouse family, told Reuters.
August 2020 shootings
Kyle Rittenhouse went to Kenosha, about 32 kilometres from his home in Antioch, Illinois, on August 25 of last year as protesters in the city gathered after a White police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, paralysing him from the waist down.
Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and fired a bullet that tore a chunk off the arm of Gaige Grosskreutz, 28. Rittenhouse claimed self-defence.
Also read | Rittenhouse provoked bloodshed, walked off like a hero in a Western: Prosecutor
Rittenhouse's gun was loaded with 30 rounds of full metal jacket bullets, which are designed to penetrate their target. The violence was captured on mobile phones and surveillance video included the moments after Rittenhouse fired four rounds into Rosenbaum, who lay motionless, bleeding and groaning. Another video showed Grosskreutz screaming, with blood gushing from his arm.
Rittenhouse said he shot Huber after he had struck him with a skateboard and pulled on his weapon. He said he fired on Grosskreutz after the man pointed the pistol he was carrying at him. Rittenhouse testified that he shot Rosenbaum after the man chased him and grabbed his gun.
Rittenhouse said during the trial that he wanted to guard property against arson and destruction and tend to the injured. In his own defence last Wednesday in the trial's most dramatic moment, Rittenhouse emphasised that he acted out of fear for his life. "I did what I had to do to stop the person who was attacking me," he said.
Defence vs prosecution
The defence argued that Rittenhouse had been repeatedly attacked and shot the men in fear for his life. He was a civic-minded teenager who carried a medical kit in addition to his gun and was in Kenosha to protect private property after several nights of unrest in the city south of Milwaukee, they said.
Also read | ‘He acted in self-defence’, says Kenosha protest gunman’s attorney
Rittenhouse was portrayed by the prosecution as a reckless vigilante who provoked the violent encounters and showed no remorse for the men he shot with his AR-15-style rifle.
Reactions
Huber's parents, Karen Bloom and John Huber, said they were "heartbroken" by the verdict. "It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street,” they said in a statement.
The verdict was greeted with outrage by many on the political left and celebrated by gun-rights supporters.
US President Joe Biden said on Friday he supported the jury's decision and urged Americans to react with calm. "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken," Biden said.
Also read | No charges against Wisconsin officer who shot Jacob Blake
Longtime civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson said the verdict throws into doubt the safety of people who protest in support of Black Americans. “It seems to me that it’s open season on human rights demonstrators,” he said.
"It is unconscionable our justice system would allow an armed vigilante ... to go free," the Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement.
US congressman Madison Cawthorn, a Republican representative from North Carolina, posted his reaction on Instagram: "Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty my friends. You have a right to defend yourselves. Be armed, be dangerous and be moral,” he said.
The National Rifle Association tweeted the text of the Second Amendment of the US constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms, 15 minutes after the verdicts.
(With agency inputs)
