Fresh protests have been sparked in Wisconsin after an unarmed black man was reportedly shot seven times in the back by a white police officer in front of his children.
According to reports, Kenosha Police officers were called to a domestic incident at around 5pm local time on Sunday, August 23.
Subsequent footage shows 29-year-old Jacob Blake being walked to a vehicle with two officers, before shots can be heard.
Sources state that the County of Kenosha is now in a ‘state of emergency’ after riots broke out in the wake of the incident. Crowds gathered at the scene of the shooting on Sunday evening, voicing their outrage.
A spokesperson for the Kenosha Police Department confirmed Blake, a father-of-three, had been airlifted to a Milwaukee hospital in a serious condition.
Police have so far refused to say what caused the shooting, but at least seven shots can be heard in the video. Kenosha News say that officers were responding to a call after Blake attempted to break up a fight between two women outside a home.
Other reports suggest that Blake’s children were in a nearby vehicle and saw their dad shot down by the officers.
Much of the U.S. remains raw in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of four Minneapolis officers on May 25, and this is hardly proof that we’re heading in the right direction.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement: “Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight. 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.”
Please join us in praying for Jacob Blake’s life. This father is lying in critical condition in hospital … we ask the Lord to help save him.
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