Crime lab shreds Kyle Rittenhouse’s firearm

The rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used to fatally shoot two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., in 2020 was destroyed last month.

A video obtained by NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV shows officials with the Wisconsin crime lab shredding the AR-15-style rifle after feeding it into a machine on Feb. 25.

Pieces of the rifle can be seen dropping into a bucket beneath the shredder.

Rittenhouse in January requested a judge approve the return of the rifle he wielded in the Kenosha protests so he could destroy it himself.

Rittenhouse, from Antioch, Ill., traveled to Kenosha during fierce protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. There, he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded another.

Rittenhouse claimed self-defense at trial and in November a jury acquitted him of all charges in a widely publicized case that saw people both erupt in anger at Rittenhouse and staunchly defend him.

Ahead of the 2020 protests in Kenosha, Rittenhouse, then 17, received the rifle from his friend, Dominick Black, who had purchased the firearm.

When requesting the return of his rifle, Rittenhouse’s lawyer claimed his client was the rightful owner of the rifle via a “verbal contract enacted with Dominick Black,” according to CNN.

During an appearance on the conservative podcast show “The Charlie Kirk Show” in December, Rittenhouse said he no longer wanted the weapon.

“We don’t want anything to do with that,” Rittenhouse said.