Accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse will not be charged in his home state of Illinois, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
17-year-old Rittenhouse was accused of killing two protesters, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, while injuring a third with an AR-15 rifle during the protests in Kenosha Aug. 25.
Protests started a few days after police officer, Rusten Sheskey, shot Jacob Blake Aug. 23.
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The gun was used, purchased and stored in Wisconsin, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a release issued Tuesday.
“There is no evidence the gun was ever physically possessed by Kyle Rittenhouse in Illinois,” the Illinois State Attorney’s Office said.
Given this development, Rittenhouse will not be charged in Illinois. Police in Antioch — Rittenhouse’s hometown located about 15 miles southwest of Kenosha — investigated but found no crimes committed in Illinois by Rittenhouse, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Rittenhouse is currently being held in a juvenile detention center in Lake County without a bond since there are pending criminal charges in Kenosha, according to Associated Press reporting. He turned himself in after authorities ignored his apparent attempts to surrender after the shootings, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Rittenhouse is due for an extradition hearing with the Lake County Court Oct. 30.
Lin Wood, one of Rittenhouse’s attorneys, said in a tweet that Rittenhouse did not possess the gun in Illinois.
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“Kyle did not carry a gun across state lines,” Wood said. “The gun belonged to his friend, a Wisconsin resident. The gun never left the State of Wisconsin. Truth always prevails.”
In Wisconsin, Rittenhouse is charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of attempted intentional homicide, according to NBC News. He may also be charged with the misdemeanor of underage firearm possession for having a semi-automatic rifle.
It is unknown where the gun is now or if someone else had the gun in Illinois, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Prosecutors said they will not release any additional information so they do not interfere with any potential ongoing investigations in Wisconsin.
