Kyle Rittenhouse’s gun was a Smith & Wesson M&P 15, an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO with a 16-inch barrel. He was 17 and could not legally buy it himself, so a friend bought it for him in May 2020. He carried it in Kenosha on August 25, 2020, killed two men and wounded a third, and was acquitted of all criminal charges in November 2021. The rifle was fed into a shredder at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab three months later, at Rittenhouse’s own request.1The Guardian. Kyle Rittenhouse Gun Rifle Kenosha Shootings
How Rittenhouse Got the Rifle
Rittenhouse gave the purchase money to Dominick Black, who was 18 at the time. Black bought the M&P 15 in May 2020 at an Ace Hardware store in Ladysmith, Wisconsin.2FactCheck.org. Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon Black later testified that they intended to use the rifle for target shooting and hunting on a friend’s property in northern Wisconsin.3PBS NewsHour. Man Who Bought Gun for Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse Avoids Prison With Plea Deal
The rifle was stored in a safe at the Kenosha home of Black’s stepfather.4WISN. Kyle Rittenhouse Told Police Where to Find Gun Used in Kenosha Shootings On the night of August 25, 2020, Rittenhouse and Black each took a weapon and ammunition and went to Car Source, a Kenosha dealership, saying they meant to help protect the property during the unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake.5CNN. Dominick Black Kyle Rittenhouse Gun Plea Deal
The Wisconsin Loophole That Kept the Rifle Legal in His Hands
Alongside the homicide counts, Rittenhouse was charged with a misdemeanor: illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. It mattered because it offered jurors a path to convict even if they accepted his self-defense arguments on the shootings. Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed it before the case reached the jury.6PBS NewsHour. Why Did the Judge Drop Kyle Rittenhouse Gun Charge
The dismissal came down to the wording of Wisconsin Statute 948.60. The statute generally bars minors from possessing dangerous weapons, but subsection (3)(c) narrows that ban for rifles and shotguns. It applies only when the weapon is a short-barreled rifle or shotgun, defined elsewhere in state law as having a barrel under 16 inches, or when the minor is under 16 and out of compliance with hunting-education requirements.7Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes Section 948.60 The M&P 15 had a barrel of at least 16 inches. Rittenhouse was 17. When Judge Schroeder asked prosecutor Thomas Binger to confirm the weapon was not short-barreled, Binger conceded it was not. “Alright, and count six is dismissed,” the judge said.8WISN. Change Law That Allowed Rittenhouse to Carry Weapon
Legal analysts called the statute “extraordinarily poorly worded” and “murky,” with confusing cross-references. Milwaukee attorney Tom Grieve noted that ambiguous criminal statutes are generally read in favor of the defendant. Former state Senator Jon Erpenbach said he could not imagine lawmakers intended the hunting exception to let minors carry semiautomatic rifles at protests.6PBS NewsHour. Why Did the Judge Drop Kyle Rittenhouse Gun Charge Stanford law professor Robert Weisberg observed that because the judge dismissed the count before deliberations, the ruling likely amounted to a judicial acquittal, meaning double jeopardy would bar the state from ever reinstating the charge.9Stanford Law School. Stanford Criminal Law Experts on the Kyle Rittenhouse Acquittal
The dismissal reshaped the self-defense analysis too. Professor David Alan Sklansky explained that under Wisconsin law, a defendant’s provocation can defeat a self-defense claim only if the defendant was acting illegally. Once the judge ruled that Rittenhouse’s possession of the rifle was lawful, the prosecution lost a key argument that carrying the weapon at all was itself legal provocation.9Stanford Law School. Stanford Criminal Law Experts on the Kyle Rittenhouse Acquittal On November 19, 2021, the jury acquitted Rittenhouse on every remaining count.10NPR. Kyle Rittenhouse Acquitted on All Charges
Wisconsin’s open-carry law, by contrast, applies only to adults 18 and older, which is why what a 17-year-old could legally carry became one of the case’s most contested questions, as Marquette University professor Paul Nolette noted.11NPR. The Trial of Kyle Rittenhouse Is a Microcosm of the Gun Control Debate
What Happened to the Buyer
Dominick Black was charged in November 2020 with two felony counts of delivering a dangerous weapon to a minor resulting in death, each carrying up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.12NBC News. Dominick Black Charged With Buying Kyle Rittenhouse Gun
On January 10, 2022, Black pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which prosecutors reclassified as a non-criminal county ordinance violation. He was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, and the two felony counts were dismissed. Prosecutor Thomas Binger said the plea reflected Black’s cooperation, including an early statement, waiving his Fifth Amendment right, and testifying for the prosecution at Rittenhouse’s trial. The Rittenhouse acquittal and Judge Schroeder’s ruling on the vagueness of the minor-possession statute also weighed in the decision. Binger said buying a firearm for someone who cannot legally purchase one remains “a serious offense.”3PBS NewsHour. Man Who Bought Gun for Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse Avoids Prison With Plea Deal13ABC News. Friend Who Bought Rifle for Kyle Rittenhouse Reaches Plea Deal
The Rifle Was Shredded in Milwaukee
On February 25, 2022, the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 was destroyed at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab in Milwaukee. Supervisors from the Kenosha Police Department’s Detective Bureau retrieved the rifle from evidence, marked and photographed it, and transported it to the lab, where technicians fed it into a shredder. The destruction was recorded under the terms of a January 2022 agreement between prosecutors and the defense.14WBAY. Kyle Rittenhouse’s Rifle Destroyed
Rittenhouse’s lead attorney, Mark Richards, said Rittenhouse requested the destruction because he did not want someone to buy the weapon and turn it into a trophy.15PBS NewsHour. Wisconsin Crime Lab Destroys Kyle Rittenhouse Rifle According to separate reporting, the defense also wanted to prevent Black, the legal owner, from selling the firearm to interested parties who had already made inquiries.16WISN. Kyle Rittenhouse Gun Destroyed
The Push to Close the Loophole
After the dismissal, Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin moved to rewrite the statute. A group including State Rep. Deb Andraca, State Sen. Melissa Agard, State Sen. Robert Wirch, and State Rep. Tod Ohnstad introduced a proposal to amend Wisconsin Statute 948.60 so that minors could possess long guns only while legally hunting. Ohnstad called the existing exception “a dangerous loophole that must be clarified.”8WISN. Change Law That Allowed Rittenhouse to Carry Weapon17Patch. WI Dems Push to Change Gun Laws After Kyle Rittenhouse Trial The bill required passage through committee, both chambers, and the governor’s signature. Based on available reporting, it had not become law.
The KR-15
The original rifle is gone, but Rittenhouse’s name is now on a new one. As of early 2025 he was working full-time at Gulf Coast Gun & Outdoors, a shop in Milton, Florida, that promoted him as “the Kenosha Kid.” He designed a custom rifle sold exclusively at the store, dubbed the “KR-15” and carrying his signature on the side. The rifle was offered as the grand prize during the shop’s 10-year anniversary event, paired with 1,000 rounds of ammunition.18WTMJ. Kyle Rittenhouse Is Now a Full-Time Gun Shop Employee in Florida19Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Northern Florida Gun Store Boasts Kyle Rittenhouse as New Cashier