Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old charged with killing two people and wounding a third, is testifying Wednesday at his trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse, 18, and his attorneys claim he acted in self-defense during protests against police violence in August 2020.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide. He also faces charges of recklessly endangering the safety of two other victims, and possessing a weapon while under the age of 18.
If convicted of the homicide charge, he could face up to life in prison.
Rittenhouse broke into tears as he explained the moments leading to the first fatal shooting. After a short break, he defended his actions. “I didn’t do anything wrong, I was defending myself,” he said.
“I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” he told the court. “I did what I had to do to stop them from attacking me.”
Watch the trial live on CBSN Chicago in the video player above.
