• Jacob Blake had a knife in his car during the confrontation with police where he was shot in the back seven times, according to a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
  • The statement – released more than three days after the shooting – is the first detailed information from the police about what happened.
  • Officers tried unsuccessfully to arrest Blake, it said, after responding to a call from a woman about her boyfriend.
  • Officers fired a Taser, which did not stop him, the statement said.
  • The statement said Blake had a knife on the floor of the driver-side of the car. He was opening the door when he was shot.
  • A witness, one of Blake’s neighbors, has told Insider that think Blake was actually accessing the car to check on his children, three of whom were in the back seat.
  • Blake is alive in the hospital, but has serious injuries and may never walk again.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Jacob Blake had a knife in his car and was shot by police as they attempted to arrest him, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The statement came four days after Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times in the back, causing the 29-year-old Black man massive internal injuries.

It was the first official update to provide details of the circumstances of the shooting. Earlier statements from the Kenosha Police Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice said only that a man had been shot after officers responded to a “domestic incident.”

The shooting was caught on camera by an onlooker and spread widely on social media. City-wide protest and civil unrest followed, in which two people have been shot dead.

The Wednesday statement said that on the day of Blake's shooting, officers were responding to a call from a woman who said her boyfriend was at the premises when he should not be.

An account from one witness, neighbor Dan Stone, told Insider that Blake had been attempting to de-escalate an argument between "two girls" at the scene.

It said that officers attempted to arrest Blake, and used a Taser before he was shot by Sheskey. It said the Taser failed to stop him.

A second piece of onlooker video footage of the encounter, and witness accounts, also indicated that there was a struggle between police and Blake, from which Blake eventually walked away.

Sheskey shot Blake after Blake opened the driver-side door of his car and started to lean inside. The statement said officers found a knife on the floor of the driver side of the car.

It also said that Blake had told officers that he had a knife.

Stone, who said he has known Blake for about five years, told Insider that Blake's motivation for going to the car will have been to check on his children, three of whom were in the back seat and "screaming."

"Knowing Jacob, that's what he was doing," Dan Stone told Insider. "His kids are his priority. He wanted to make his kids safe."

As Blake leaned inside the car, Sheskey shot him seven times in the back, causing him severe injuries.

Blake's injuries mean that he may never walk again, according to lawyers representing the family.

An investigation into the shooting has also been opened at the federal level. The officers involved, including Sheskey, have been placed on administrative leave.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice statement follows days of city-wide protest and civil unrest, during which cars and businesses have been set alight.

17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree homicide in the shooting of three protesters, two of whom died.