Police Shooting Victim, Jacob Blake, Now Paralyzed From Waist Down With '8 Holes' In His Body, Father Says
Blake remains in serious condition while Pellerin was pronounced dead at a hospital.
by Blavity Team
August 24, 2020 at 5:20 pm
Update (August 25, 2020): Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black father shot repeatedly by cops in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday is now paralyzed from the shooting, according to his father.
According to The Chicago Sun Times, the father, also named Jacob Blake, says his son now has “eight holes” from the bullets which were lodged in his body Sunday night.
“I want to put my hand on my son’s cheek and kiss him on his forehead, and then I’ll be OK,” he said. “I’ll kiss him with my mask. The first thing I want to do is touch my son.”
Detailing his son's character, he said Blake was a generous person.
“If you were in need of something and my son had it, he would not hesitate to give it to you,” his father said. “He’s a very giving individual.”
As Blavity previously reported, Kenosha, Wisconsin, became the latest U.S. city to be set ablaze following senseless police violence.
Original story (August 24, 2020): A Black man in Wisconsin is fighting for his life and another in Louisiana is dead after police shot both of them in the back over the weekend.
Jacob Blake, who was shot in Kenosha, WI, remains in serious condition while Trayford Pellerin was pronounced dead at a hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Pellerin was shot outside of a convenience store on Friday evening when police responded to a "disturbance involving a person armed with a knife," CNN reported. According to a statement from the Louisiana State Police, officers found Pellerin in the store's parking lot with a knife and tried to arrest him. As he left, police followed him on foot. Police said they tried to use tasers during the chase, but it was "ineffective."
This is Trayford Pellerin, shot several times in the back at close range by Lafayette, LA police as he was walking away from them. He was 31. At a time when communities are peacefully marching for an end to police violence against Black people, this fatal shooting is outrageous. pic.twitter.com/euHOp6tzDP
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) August 23, 2020
Officers then opened fire as the 31-year-old tried to enter the convenience store, according to the statement.
In Wisconsin, Blake, 29, was opening the door of a parked car in a residential neighborhood when officers opened fire and struck him in the back on Sunday night, The New York Times reported. The incident happened shortly after 5 p.m. when police “responded to a reported domestic incident," according to the state Department of Justice.