Shocking video shows gunfire erupt during Jacob Blake protest in Wisconsin as two people shot dead

A shocking video shows the moment gunfire erupted at a protest in the US as two people were shot dead and another injured.

It comes after a third night of unrest in the state of Wisconsin over the death of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man who has been left "fighting for his life" after he was shot multiple times by a police officer, according to his family's lawyer.

Footage emerged on social media on Wednesday of gunfire erupting during the protests in the city of Kenosha.

Several people are seen rushing towards a man with a gun who appears to have been knocked to the ground.

Once on the ground, the man with the gun turns his weapon towards the crowd and several shots can be heard.

Wisconsin, Kenosha: Jacob Blake Protests - In pictures

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Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said one victim was shot in the head and another in the chest late on Tuesday, just before midnight, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Mr Beth did not know where the other person was shot, but his or her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The shooting is under investigation and no other information has been released. The victims have not been identified.

Mr Blake, who was shot multiple times by police, is paralysed, and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again, his family’s lawyer said, while calling for the officer who opened fire to be arrested and others involved to lose their jobs.

The shooting of Mr Blake on Sunday in Kenosha – apparently in the back while three of his children looked on – was captured on mobile phone video and ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, coming just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis sparked mass protests.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Blake’s father spoke alongside other family members and lawyers, telling reporters that police shot his son “seven times, seven times, like he didn’t matter”.

“But my son matters. He’s a human being and he matters,” said Mr Blake’s father, who is also named Jacob Blake.

The 29-year-old is in surgery, said lawyer Ben Crump, adding that the bullets severed Mr Blake’s spinal cord and shattered his vertebrae. Another lawyer said there was also severe damage to organs.

Jacob Blake was shot infront of his three children who were in his car
attorneycrump/Instagaram

“It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr to ever walk again,” Mr Crump said.

The legal team plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting.

Police have said little about what happened, other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute. The officers involved have not been named. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating.

Jacob Blake's sister Letetra Widman remained dry-eyed as she delivered a heartfelt speech 
CNN

Mr Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, said the damage in Kenosha does not reflect what her family wants and that, if her son could see it, he would be “very unpleased”.

She said the first thing her son said to her when she saw him was he was sorry.

“He said, ‘I don’t want to be a burden on you guys,’” Ms Jackson said. “’I want to be with my children, and I don’t think I’ll walk again.’”

Three of the younger Blake’s sons – aged three, five and eight – were in the car at the time of the shooting, Mr Crump said. It was the eight-year-old’s birthday, he added.

Anger over the shooting has spilled into the streets of Kenosha and other cities, including Los Angeles, Wisconsin’s capital of Madison and in Minneapolis, the epicentre of the Black Lives Matter movement this summer following Mr Floyd’s death.

Hundreds of people again defied a curfew on Tuesday in Kenosha, where destruction marred protests the previous night as fires were set and businesses were vandalised.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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