JACOB BLAKE: BLACK MAN SHOT 7 TIMES BY POLICE IN THE UNITED STATES

 

A Black man shot in the back, a viral video and civil unrest: Kenosha and the rest of the country are on edge after latest police shooting

Three months after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, sparking national protests, police in Kenosha shot a Black man in the back as he got into a car with his children inside, according to video and a statement from the attorney representing the man’s family.

Violent unrest broke out after video of the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, was widely disseminated on social media Sunday evening, prompting Gov. Tony Evers on Monday to call out the National Guard. The incident also propelled Wisconsin, already a battleground state in the upcoming presidential election, into the center of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the shots "pierce the soul of our nation."

"Equal justice has not been real for Black Americans and so many others,” Biden went on to say. “We are at an inflection point. We must dismantle systemic racism. It is the urgent task before us. We must fight to honor the ideals laid in the original American promise, which we are yet to attain: That all men and women are created equal, but more importantly that they must be treated equally."

Blake, who was shot at close range at least seven times, was in stable condition Monday after surgery, his father said in a Facebook video.

“Stable. Still here," said his father, also named Jacob Blake. "You can't take nothing that's not yours if you're not supposed to get it."

Angry crowds gathered soon after Blake was shot shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday.

At least three Kenosha garbage trucks were burned out and windows were shattered at several businesses. Written with spray paint on the courthouse: “They kill us because they fear us.” “Honor the dead.” And “Be water, spread fire.”

A police officer was injured when he was struck by a brick. He was recovering and doing well Monday, Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian said at a news conference.

The unrest continued into Monday, as angry crowds tried to shove their way into the the Public Safety Building for an afternoon news conference. Later, police used tear gas on crowds gathered past the city's 8 p.m. curfew.

The events echoed those that occurred after Floyd’s death around the country, including in Milwaukee after the death of Joel Acevedo at the hands of an off-duty Milwaukee police officer.