Prosecutors announce homicide charges against Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing 2 people at a Kenosha protest
- Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of killing two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been charged with multiple felonies.
- Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley charged Rittenhouse with first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree reckless homicide, and attempted first-degree homicide, The Associated Press reported.
- If convicted, Rittenhouse could face a mandatory life sentence.
Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing two people at an anti-police-brutality protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, among other felonies.
Rittenhouse, who was arrested Wednesday on one charge of first-degree homicide, is said to have traveled from Illinois with a firearm and accused of shooting multiple people Tuesday night amid civil unrest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
On Thursday, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley filed the full set of charges against the teenager: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree reckless endangerment. If convicted of the first charge, he could receive a sentence of life in prison.
The teenager also faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18. He's being held in the Lake County Judicial System in Illinois and set to be extradited to Wisconsin, according to the Village of Antioch Police Department.
According to the criminal complaint filed Thursday, Rittenhouse showed "utter disregard for human life," spurring him to "recklessly cause the death" of Rosenbaum. He also had an "intent to kill" Huber, and later "attempted to cause the death" of Grosskreutz.
Rittenhouse is accused of shooting 3 people in Kenosha before going back to Illinois
Rittenhouse's attorney, Lin Wood, said he was acting in self-defense. A witness told Business Insider the scene before the first shooting was not violent but that Rittenhouse seemed "on edge."
A New York Times analysis of video from the scene shows a gunman shooting a man in the head near a gas station. The criminal complaint identifies that man as Joseph Rosenbaum, who "appears to be unarmed" for the duration of the video that police reviewed.
Video then shows the gunman running from the scene with a phone to his ear, saying that he had "just killed somebody." He is pursued by a crowd, falls to the ground, and gets up while firing another round of shots, killing one man, identified as Anthony Huber, and wounding another, identified as Gaige Grosskreutz.
Rittenhouse idolized the police and was a supporter of President Donald Trump, attending a January campaign rally for the president in Iowa, Business Insider reported.
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes described Rittenhouse as an "outside agitator" at a press conference Thursday.
"He came in from Illinois with a long rifle and was able to just walk the streets, freely, like that's something normal we should just come to expect," Barnes said.
This article has been updated.
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com
- Read more:
- The 17-year-old suspect in the shooting at Kenosha protests sat front row at a Trump rally in January
- Tucker Carlson implies local officials and demonstrators are to blame for the 17-year-old accused of killing two Jacob Blake protesters
- Jacob Blake is handcuffed to his hospital bed, father says, despite being paralyzed after police shot him in the back
- The Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into police shooting of Jacob Blake