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Rittenhouse Attorney: Kenosha Shootings Were ‘100 Percent Self-Defense’

Fox News

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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The attorney representing alleged Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse said Monday that his client was exercising “100 percent self-defense” on the city streets.

Rittenhouse has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after he shot and killed two people and injured another last Tuesday.

Attorney John Pierce described Rittenhouse as a concerned youth who was determined to protect businesses from being torched and looted by rioters. “Kyle and his friends decided that nobody was doing anything to protect that community and they decided they would answer the call and help protect that business,” Pierce told Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

The lawyer said that Rittenhouse was not only armed with an AR-15 rifle but had brought a first aid kit because “he was concerned that there would be wounded protesters downtown,” in a city had become a “war zone.” (RELATED: Alleged Kenosha Shooter Charged With First-Degree Murder)

Pierce explained that Rittenhouse became a target of rioters because “he was trying to put out the fires” that arsonists had started. “The mob became enraged. They began screaming that Kyle needed to be killed and they were going to kill him.”

”They started relentlessly hunting him as prey as he ran down the street attempting to retreat,” Pierce began, saying that Joseph Rosenbaum, one of those killed by gunfire, “attempted to take his weapon, take his firearm, and Kyle, when he turned, he instantaneously had no choice but to defend himself by firing one, he was in eminent danger of serious bodily harm or death” Pierce insisted. (RELATED: Alleged Kenosha Shooter Told Daily Caller He Was There To ‘Help People,’ Protect Property Before The Shooting’)

KENOSHA, WI - AUGUST 25: Law enforcement hold a line on August 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. As the city declared a state of emergency curfew, a third night of civil unrest occurred after the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, on August 23. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Law enforcement hold a line on August 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. As the city declared a state of emergency curfew, a third night of civil unrest occurred after the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, on August 23. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The lawyer described the second shooting incident as similar to the first. “Again, the mob relentlessly and viciously pursued him and he was struck as he was running from behind by one of the rioters.”

“He tripped and fell to the ground and then one of the rioters was right over him,” Pierce continued. “The other one was attempting and both of them were attempting to disarm him to take his AR-15. He was successful in being able to fight that off and he had no choice but to then immediately defend himself. It was serious bodily harm or death.”

Kenosha police said Monday that 102 of the 175 people arrested for rioting and violent protest are from outside of the community. President Donald Trump has promised to visit the city on Tuesday.