After the Sunday’s encounter with the Kenosha Police, the officer responsible for shooting Jacob Blake at least seven times has been named.
There have been recent developments on the Kenosha shooting, as authorities identify Rusten Sheskey as the shooter caught on video. New information about what transpired that led to Jacob Blake fighting for his life has emerged.
DoJ issues a statement on the case
The Guardian reports that the Wisconsin Department of Justice identified Rusten Sheskey, who has been in service for seven years, as the officer who fired shots at Jacob Blake. DoJ is said to be opening a civil rights investigation into the police shooting.
BREAKING: Officials Identify Officer Who Shot #JacobBlake:
– Rusten Sheskey, a 7-year veteran of the Dept.
– Taser was ineffective
– Blake possessed a knife
– There is no bodycam footage
– No criminal charges as of now⏩ https://t.co/uthDQSbRC1 pic.twitter.com/DimvNJweIe
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 26, 2020
The news outlet quotes DoJ’s statement:
“During the incident, officers attempted to arrest Jacob S Blake, age 29. Law enforcement deployed a taser to attempt to stop Mr Blake, however the taser was not successful in stopping Mr Blake.”
“Mr Blake walked around his vehicle, opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward. While holding onto Mr Blake’s shirt, officer Rusten Sheskey fired his service weapon seven times. Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr Blake’s back.”
“During the investigation following the initial incident, Mr Blake admitted that he had a knife in his possession. Division of criminal investigation agents recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Mr Blake’s vehicle. A search of the vehicle located no additional weapons.”
As it appears, Blake was allegedly reaching out for the said knife, which led to the firing of the shots. However, the news outlet points out two points that remain unclear: When did Blake tell the officers he had a knife and why “police reacted with such force” for a supposed domestic call?
According to a man who claims to be the person who recorded Blake’s shooting, he heard the police officers yell, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!” Although there wasn’t a knife on Blake’s hands.
Also, state authorities never mentioned Blake threatened anyone with a knife.
Jacob Blake shooting aftermath: Vigilante shooter identified
Along with the news of finally naming Blake’s shooter was the reveal of another shooter’s identity as well, who is responsible for the death of two people, and for one who was severely injured, on the third day of the Kenosha protest.
BBC identifies a 17-year-old white teen who was arrested on Wednesday. Kyle Rittenhouse from Antioch, Illinois, is now suspected of first-degree intentional homicide, says The Guardian.
A teenager faces charges in shootings that left 2 people dead in Kenosha, WI. The @nytimes Visual Investigations team reviewed hours of livestreams to track 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse’s movements during and leading up to the shootings. [THREAD] https://t.co/FRCYlS5wgH
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
As it turns out, there have been groups and individuals who took upon themselves to act as vigilantes as the terror on the streets have flipped local businesses, buildings, and cars ablaze.
There’s been an urged call to arms on social media platforms, encouraging acts of violence towards Kenosha. A Facebook page has been taken down, which was named Kenosha Guard.
Furthermore, Facebook is said to be taking down other accounts as well that are “tied to the shootings that violate its policies.”
Featured image courtesy of Justin Berken/Shutterstock