'The City Is Burning' Gov. Declares State Of Emergency In Kenosha

KENOSHA, WI — After two nights of widespread protests in Kenosha related to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency in communities across Wisconsin.

Under the order, 250 additional Wisconsin National Guard members will be deployed to Kenosha County. That's in addition to the 125 guard members who were deployed in the city on Monday afternoon. The move comes after several lawmakers implored state officials to add more law enforcement to a community that's been wracked by massive property damage, fires and confrontations with authorities.

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State Sen. Van Wanggaard and State Rep. Samantha Kerkman, who both represent the area in the Wisconsin State Legislature made such an appeal.

"The city is burning. Residents are heartbroken, terrified for their lives and livelihoods and city. They are literally begging and crying for help," the two lawmakers wrote. "Cornerstones of Kenosha, like the Danish Brotherhood, and small businesses have been destroyed, leaving hundreds of people unemployed. Rioters have tried to destroy irreplaceable historic buildings like the Simmons Library and Courthouse. The scars of this week cannot heal until the violence stops. The rioting must end."

In a statement from Wanggaard's office later Tuesday, he expressed concern that "250 National Guard members, even combined with the 100+ mutual aid respondents from surrounding communities will not be enough to overcome the hundreds of people who are claiming to come to Kenosha to riot and destroy Kenosha this evening."

Kenosha Fire Department officials said they responded to more than 37 fires between late Monday and early Tuesday. Fire officials said Kenosha police officers were involved in "numerous accidents, assaults, and injuries with traumas of varying degrees, including a shooting." One officer was also hit was a mortar round, fire officials said. The extent of the officer's injuries are not currently known.

Fire officials said a major fire on 60th Street from 11th Ave to 14th Ave. nearly leveled several city blocks. Losses included the county's probation office, a Department of Corrections building and several local community businesses and several homes.

For the second straight night, Kenosha County will implement a curfew from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning. The curfew, which applied Monday night for all residents east of I-94 in Kenosha County, proved to do little good, as protesters fought with police at the Kenosha County Courthouse late Monday and torched several buildings Downtown and west in Kenosha's Uptown neighborhood.

Tuesday afternoon, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said there's been 16 arrests made since Sunday following protests in the area.

Blake, 29, was shot several times by Kenosha police Sunday during the course of a domestic dispute on the city's north side.

A witness to the shooting recorded the incident on video. In that video, police are seen following Blake around his SUV, grabbing him by the shirt, and opening fire on him several times as he enters his car while his children were apparently seated inside.

Blake survived the shooting. The video of Blake's shooting has gone viral, and Kenosha has seen widespread protests ever since.

Public officials of all kinds have weighed in on the shooting, some calling for immediate punishment for the officer who pulled the trigger, others for police and social reforms, and others who are calling for a playing-out of the police investigation into the shooting.