Protesters Gather in Oakland to Condemn the Shooting of Jacob Blake

Hundreds of demonstrators in Oakland gathered at Oscar Grant / Frank Ogawa Plaza Wednesday evening to protest another shooting of a Black man by police.

Jacob Blake, 29, was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wis. on Sunday, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Lawyers for Blake have said he was returning to his car after deescalating a fight when officers began shooting. The incident was captured by cellphone video which shows officers pursuing Blake, grabbing his shirt and shooting him from behind just outside the vehicle. His three children were in the car.

Protests in Oakland began with about a dozen speakers at the plaza, then attendees began marching while chanting "No racist cops, no KKK, justice for Jacob Blake.”

While the protests were largely peaceful, by 10:15 p.m. Oakland police had declared the protest an "unlawful assembly." On the department's Twitter page, police officials said some people within the crowd "are determined to cause damage, Breaking windows, throwing objects and setting fires." At about 11:15 p.m., Oakland police tweeted video of a smashed entry door and small fire burning just inside the René C. Davidson Courthouse.

Police officials also reported that demonstrators "temporarily" shut down traffic on I-580. Tweets from East Bay Times reporter George Kelly appear to show traffic exiting westbound 580 at Grand being turned around back towards the freeway.

While many were out to protest police violence, one Oakland resident at the plaza was critical of the protesters, saying the demonstrations were not representative of the Black community in the city.

"At the end of the day: preach, protest, do what's right, but don't come down here and destroy stuff," said Renee Broughton.

"Because when we need to come down here and do our business and do certain things, we can't do shit. Why? Cause all this shit."

Wisconsin state officials on Wednesday identified the officer who shot Jacob Blake as Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Dept.

The shooting sparked several nights of protests against racial injustice and police violence in Kenosha. Two people were killed Tuesday night at one of those protests and a third was wounded in an attack apparently carried out by a young white man who was caught on cellphone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a semi-automatic rifle.

The alleged gunman, identified as 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, considered himself a militia member trying to protect property. Much of Rittenhouse’s Facebook page is devoted to praising law enforcement, with references to Blue Lives Matter. He also can be seen holding an assault rifle.

Rittenhouse was arrested on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide on Wednesday.

“I just killed somebody,” he could be heard saying at one point during the rampage that erupted just before midnight.

According to witness accounts and video footage, police apparently let Rittenhouse walk past them and leave the scene with a rifle over his shoulder and his hands in the air as members of the crowd yelled for him to be arrested because he had just shot people.

In the wake of the killings, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers authorized sending 500 members of the National Guard to Kenosha, doubling the number of troops. The governor's office said he is working with other states to bring in additional National Guard members and law officers. Authorities also announced a 7 p.m. curfew, an hour earlier than the night before.

In Washington, the Justice Department said it is sending in the FBI and federal marshals in response to the unrest. The White House said up to 2,000 National Guard troops would be made available.

Blake's legal team plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting. Police have said little about what happened, other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating.

Meanwhile, in Orlando, six NBA basketball teams — including the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers — are holding a strike, refusing to participate in Wednesday's scheduled playoffs games in protest of the events in Kenosha.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This story has been updated.