Jacob Blake, who was shot by police as he entered his car Sunday evening in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is paralyzed from the waist down, his father said in a Tuesday report.
Blake’s father said he saw the now-viral video only 18 minutes after his son was shot, according to an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. Some witnesses said Blake, 29, was simply trying to break up a fight before police arrived on the scene, the CST reported.
“What justified all those shots? What justified doing that in front of my grandsons?” he said in the interview.
Blake’s father told the CST that his son was shot eight times and that doctors did not yet know whether his son’s paralysis was permanent.
“I want to put my hand on my son’s cheek and kiss him on his forehead, and then I’ll be OK,” he told the CST.
Laquisha Booker, Blake’s partner, told NBC’s Milwaukee affiliate that their three children were in the back seat of the SUV when Blake was shot from behind, according to the CST. Their children are ages three, five and eight, according to the New York Times.
“That man just literally grabbed him by his shirt and looked the other way and was just shooting him,” she told local news outlet WTMJ.
Protests in Kenosha have been ongoing since Sunday evening and have turned violent at night. Some rioters were seen torching vehicles and looting businesses, prompting Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to call in the National Guard. (RELATED: Kenosha, Wisconsin Burns As Rioting, Looting Continues)
Law enforcement line in front of the #Kenosha County Courthouse: pic.twitter.com/ghXHrhWvBw
— Richie????McG???? (@RichieMcGinniss) August 25, 2020
Evers tweeted a statement regarding the shooting on Sunday.
“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,” he tweeted.
Evers said that he had not seen any indication that Blake had a weapon and that the case is being investigated, according to CST.
Blake’s father said that the officers who shot his son were “the flint as well as the gasoline” that sparked the violence in the city, CST reported.
“The officers that shot my son like a dog in the street are responsible for everything that happened in the city of Kenosha,” he told CST. “My son is not responsible for it. My son didn’t have a weapon. He didn’t have a gun.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.