By Staff, Agencies

US Police firing tear gas clashed with protesters in a second night of unrest and arson in Kenosha, Wisconsin, triggered by the wounding of a Black man who was shot in the back by officers as his three young sons looked on.

Protesters defied a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Monday night as they confronted law enforcement officers in riot gear outside the county courthouse blocks away from where Jacob Blake was gunned down on Sunday in an encounter with police caught on video.

Blake, 29, survived the shooting and was listed in stable condition following surgery, his father told news media on Monday.

But the incident, the latest in a litany of cases to focus attention on police treatment of African Americans, unleashed outrage in the lakefront city of Kenosha about 40 miles south of Milwaukee.

The shooting occurred three months after the May 25 death of a Black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd, who was pinned to the street under the knee of a white police officer, sparking nationwide protests against police brutality and racism within the US criminal justice system.

As demonstrations erupted Sunday night, some protesters set fires and threw bricks and petrol bombs at police, leading authorities to close public buildings.

Black Lives Matter activists demanded the immediate arrest of the officers involved in the shooting, who were placed on administrative leave.

The upheaval prompted Governor Tony Evers to order National Guard troops deployed to the city to help maintain order. But he also condemned the “excessive use of force” in the Blake shooting and called for a special legislative session next week to consider police reforms.

Despite the curfew, scores of protesters marched through the streets Monday night and into Tuesday morning. One large group skirmished in front of the courthouse with sheriff’s deputies seen firing tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd. Demonstrators hurled water bottles and firecrackers at the police.

Several commercial and government buildings were set ablaze, along with vehicles in at least two car dealership lots, but the disturbances seemed to be winding down by early morning.