Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin remains in critical condition after he was shot in the back by police on Sunday.
A graphic video that was first posted on Facebook and is circulating online showed Blake, 29, getting shot at point-blank range by police. Blake was walking around his vehicle when officers yelled and pointed their weapons at him. Although Blake was unarmed, an officer tailed closely behind and grabbed Blake’s shirt before he fired at least seven shots into his back.
Blake was transported to the hospital in critical condition but has since been reported as being alive and is “expected to make it.”
Jacob Blake is still alive but is in critical condition after being shot seven times in the back by Kenosha PD last night.
Let’s lift him up in prayer.
❤️— ✨ (@TheJessieWoo) August 24, 2020
Before the shooting, Kenosha Police were responding to a call of a “domestic incident” at 5:11 p.m.
“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries,” Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said. “While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”
Attorney Benjamin Crump later reported that Blake’s three sons were in the back of the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
This is 29-year-old Jacob Blake who was shot by Kenosha police. His fiancé shared this picture with us. pic.twitter.com/6Si9lkCPFu
— Sarah Thamer (@SarahThamerWISN) August 24, 2020
Confirmed: Jacob Blake’s 3 SONS were IN THE CAR he was getting into when @KenoshaPolice shot him tonight. They saw a cop shoot their father. They will be traumatized forever. We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our kids deserve better!! #JusticeForJacobBlake
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 24, 2020
He was trying to break up a fight.
He wasn’t armed.
He was relieved police had arrived to handle the fight, so he went to get in his car and drive his children safely home.
They shot him seven times.
In the back.
In front of his children.
Say his name.
Jacob Blake.#blm
— Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler) August 24, 2020
An investigation into the shooting will be conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation and a countywide emergency curfew was declared from 10:15 p.m. on Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday.
A petition calling for the cops who shot Jacob Black to be charged has been circulating online.
