Video/Analysis of Defensive Shootings by Rifleman in Kenosha RIots

The video shows a timeline of the shootings during the Kenosha riots on 25 August, 2020.  In the video there are two shooting sequences. Both appear to be cases of self defense. 

Link to video

The video identifies the rifleman as Kyle Rittenhouse.  I will refer to the man who is running with the rifle as the rifleman, as the identification has not be verified at this time.

The first shooting happens as the rifleman is running away from pursuers, in the lot of an auto dealer.  You can see him running and people pursuing. One is getting close enough to throw something at him. About five seconds later, you hear shots being fired. Another few seconds, you hear “he shot him”. 

The man who shot was running for his life, retreating, when he apparently turns and shoots his closest pursuer.  It looks to be self defense. 

In the law of self defense, there is a long standing concept of disparity of force. Facing multiple attackers who can knock you down and stomp you to death has long been recognized as a disparity of force situation, where use of a weapon is necessary to preserve your life and/or bodily integrity. 

The recent video out of Portland, where the victim did not have a weapon, and did not resist, but was nearly killed by his pursuers, shows how dangerous mob pursuit is. You have a legal right to defend yourself with deadly force against this sort of deadly attack.

After the shots, where the pursuer goes down, the rifleman circles through the cars and comes back to the attacker he just shot.

He gets out his phone to call. According to the video, he is calling 911. 

More pursuers comes up, threatening the rifleman, so he takes off with more mob members chasing him again. 

A few seconds later, he trips in the street. One of the mob yells “get his ass!” At least five people can be seen pursuing him. Some of the mob is deterred because of his rifle. 

One mob member runs up to jump and stomp him. The rifleman appears to block him with the rifle butt. The attacker goes down, then hobbles off. At the same time a man with a skateboard is running up and strikes at the rifleman on the ground. The rifleman shoots him, probably in the body.  

A third man is running up at the rifleman, but hesitates, at the shot, and stops.

The rifleman points the rifle at him, but does not shoot. This appears to be the man who has a pistol. He attacks the rifleman again, and is appears to be shot in the arm. The attacker who had the skateboard is down in the street. 

Clearest video of defensive shooting from nypost.com

The videos illustrate how effective a man with a rifle can be in defending himself against mob attack, even with the extreme restraint shown in this example. 

First, he does not shoot, but attempts to run away. He does not shoot into the crowd, or shoot indiscriminately.  He shoots the one attacker who is the closest threat. 

Then he calls 911, according to the narration. 

Then he is threatened again. He runs/retreats again. He falls and is threatened, but does not shoot the pursuers who stop and back off. He is then assaulted by multiple men with weapons (skateboards/pistol). 

 Courtesy INSTAGRAM / @LOURIEALEX

He defends himself again, only shooting two of the three who close with him. The other pursuers have had enough, and he is able to walk away, with gunshots in the background.  He turns to walk backward, to guard against further pursuit. 

It is classic self defense. 

Finally,  a short while later, in another video, he reaches safety and is shown surrendering to police. 

All of the people shot could easily have avoided being shot, simply by not pursuing the retreating rifleman. 

With the shots in the background, it is impossible to know how many shots the rifleman who was being pursued, fired.  

This classic example shows how useful a semi-automatic rifle is in self defense against a mob. 

We cannot know everything from the video shown. More details will probably surface. The Antifa/BLM supporters have  already been on twitter claiming the rifleman was a white supremicist. 

On twitter, many were saying the attack in the street was justified, because he had “just shot someone in the head”. The twitter users never mention he shot someone in the head while fleeing the mob for his life. 

The responses seem to be pre-programed into the agitators. Whenever someone defends themselves, the agitators call them white supremacists, and claim they were the aggressors. 

Digital recording devices are repeatedly revealing the lies.

 Update: Kyle Rittenhouse, 17 has been charged with first degree intentional homicide. He is a resident of Antioch, Illinois, 12 miles from the shooting scene.

It appears the police ignored him as he attempted to surrender to them in the video, after reaching the safety of their location. 

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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