Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who allegedly shot and killed multiple people during the Kenosha riots, thinks he would’ve died that night had he not acted.
Rittenhouse, 17, allegedly killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum during a night of unrest on Aug. 25, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man. Given the protests, the teenager crossed state lines from Illinois to Wisconsin to defend a car dealership from looters. Rittenhouse allegedly shot Rosenbaum when he began to chase the teenager. After the alleged shooting, Rittenhouse ran from the scene.
“I feel I had to protect myself,” he told the Washington Post. “I would have died that night if I didn’t.”
Shortly after, Rittenhouse reportedly fired again, killing Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz. He was arrested a day later after returning to Illinois.
Rittenhouse was not old enough to buy a gun legally, so he gave his stimulus money to Dominick David Black, 19, to purchase the weapon on his behalf. The two agreed to store it in Black’s stepfather’s house in Kenosha until Rittenhouse could legally take ownership of the firearm. Black was charged with two felony counts of intentionally selling a gun to a minor earlier this month.
Rittenhouse is facing a first-degree intentional homicide charge for killing Huber and first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Rosenbaum. He is also charged with attempted first-degree homicide for wounding Gaige Grosskreutz with his rifle.
According to Rosenbaum’s fiancee, Kariann Swart, Rittenhouse’s self-defense claim doesn’t hold up.
“I don’t think there’s any sort of self-defense when there’s an unarmed person in front of you, and you’re holding an assault rifle two feet away,” she told the Washington Post. “But yet, on the other hand, you know, Joe, you shouldn’t have been down there.”
Rittenhouse faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges. His next scheduled court appearance is set for Dec. 3.
