The teenage thug who was arrested the morning after he fatally shot two people and injured another at a Jacob Blake protest in Kenosha, is now facing multiple felony charges including two counts of murder. Authorities are planning to charge Kyle Rittenhouse as an adult, according to ABC7 Chicago. Investigators said Rittenhouse was armed with an assault-style weapon and traveled from his hometown of Antioch, Illinois, to “defend” businesses from the ongoing protests while others believe he traveled to Kenosha with the intention to assault protesters.
Videos taken earlier Tuesday night, before the shooting, show Rittenhouse explaining why he came from Antioch to Wisconsin. “We are protecting from the citizens and I just got pepper sprayed by a person in the crowd,” Rittenhouse says in the video.
ABC7 reporters confirmed Rittenhouse is a former member of a youth police cadet program, which gives teens a chance to explore a career in law enforcement.
Rittenhouse was also reportedly enrolled as a fire cadet with the Antioch Fire Department, where the chief said they did not have any issues with him during that time.
In the video from before the shooting, Rittenhouse identifies himself as an EMT, shouting, “Medical, EMS right here, I’m an EMT.”
Kenosha police are now looking into whether Rittenhouse is linked to local militia groups that wanted to be deputized so they could assist officers in patrolling the streets.
After the gunshots, investigators said Rittenhouse was seen with his hands up walking past several police units and no one stopped him.
He went home to Antioch and then turned himself in on a Wisconsin fugitive warrant for first degree intentional homicide, according to authorities.
He is being held without bond and will have an extradition hearing and face murder charges on Friday.
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