Judiciary
PROSECUTORS filed six charges, including first degree murder, against a 17-year-old who shot and killed two people and injured a third amid protests and unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The most serious charge is first degree intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon.
The 17-year-old faces five felony charges, according to paperwork filed by District Attorney Michael Graveley.
If convicted, he could face a lifetime behind bars, under Wisconsin law.
The teenager was arrested on Wednesday, a day after the shootings, which took place on the fringes of protests over the Police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man.
Blake was shot at seven times by police in the back. The circumstances of the shooting are unclear, but there were confrontations during the looting and unrest.
Armed people had taken to the street in what seems was a self-described effort to protect businesses, though it is unclear if the suspect was one such vigilante.
Local police on Thursday said that after several days of arrest the previous evening was “very peaceful” and there were no reported incidents.
The state government as well as the federal government had said they were deploying additional forces to the area.
Meanwhile, Blake, the man who was shot by police, has been handcuffed to his hospital bed, his father told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“He can’t go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?’’ the newspaper quoted the father, also named Jacob Blake, as saying.
Andrew Yang, a prominent Democrat, said that he spoke with the father, who also told him the information.
“He has restraints on even though he can’t move his legs,’’ Yang said in a tweet.
Blake suffered injuries to his spinal cord and the family is worried he may never walk again.
The circumstances around his shooting remain unclear, with the state attorney general saying there was a knife at the scene, but declining to comment on whether it was relevant.
The attorney general also said officers had tried to arrest Blake and used a taser first, but this had failed. (dpa/NAN)
– Aug. 28, 2020 @ 13:35 GMT |
Tags: 17-year-old in Wisconsin charged in shootings that killed 2 people
