Jacob Blake paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police in Wisconsin, father says

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he father of Jacob Blake, the Black man who was seen in a viral video over the weekend being shot several times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said Tuesday that the shooting has left his son paralyzed from the waist down.

Blake’s father, who shares his son’s name, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Sunday’s shooting left “eight holes” in the younger Blake’s body. Doctors weren’t immediately sure if the paralysis would be permanent, according to the newspaper. The elder Blake said he was driving Tuesday from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Wisconsin to be with his son. Protesters faced off with members of the Kenosha Police Department and the National Guard for the third consecutive night after the shooting of Jacob Blake. Armored vehicles shot teargas and rubber bullets were fired to disperse a crowd of protesters outside the Kenosha courthouse, WDJT reported. The crowd responded by throwing objects, including glass and plastic bottles, the television station reported.

Earlier, Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, said her family “just really need(s) prayers,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

“As I was riding through here, through the city, I noticed a lot of damage,” Jackson said. “That doesn’t reflect my son or my family.”

“We need healing. As I pray for my son’s healing physically, emotionally and spiritually, I also have been praying even before this for the healing of our country.”

The U.S. Justice Department and FBI agents in Wisconsin are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, a Black man and father of six from Kenosha, Wisconsin, CNN reported.

According to statements from his family, Blake was shot Sunday evening as he tried to get into a small SUV with his three sons, ages 8, 5, and 3, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Video of the shooting appeared to show an officer grab Blake by the back of his shirt as he tried to get into a small SUV, then shoot him seven times at point-blank range. In the video, Blake did not appear to have anything in his hands.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice originally picked up the case, WDJT reported. Three police officers were placed on leave, the television station reported.

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