He attended high school in Evanston, where he was a member of the wrestling team. He later moved to Kenosha "for a fresh start," his family said.
Blake's family has a legacy of activism.
His grandfather, the Rev. Jacob Blake Sr., led the fight for fair housing in Evanston throughout the 1960s and '70s and led the Ebenezer AME Church congregation. He organized marches following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that eventually led Evanston City Council members to ban racial discrimination in housing.
"We the members of Ebenezer AME, were quite distressed to hear the news about Jacob Blake," the church that his grandfather pastored said in a statement after news of Blake's shooting became public.
"It is also disturbing that this action was taken without regard for his children that witnessed this egregious and callous action."
In between tears, his sister, Megan Belcher, called Jacob Blake her light during in a press conference Tuesday -- emphasizing the fact that Blake cared deeply about his family.
"I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I know how upset he is that his family's upset right now," she said. "Because his family is hurting. He loves his family. You all took him from his family, as you all stood by and let it happen."
Family attorneys said Jacob Blake is paralyzed and loved ones are hoping that he can walk again.
Zietha Blake, another sister, recounted how close the two were growing up, calling him her twin.
"We got a lot of insiders, a lot of things just between us, because we are like this," she said, holding up crossed fingers.
Almost every night, Zietha said she and Blake would call each other, just to joke around. She, like Megan, emphasized the bond he had with his family.
"His kids are his world. But not only that, his family is his world," she said. "Like (Megan) said, he's upset because we're hurt, we're upset. He doesn't even care about himself. He's more so worried about us."
Video shows the shooting
On Sunday evening, Blake was on a Kenosha street lined with apartment buildings. He was "breaking up a fight between two women," said Benjamin Crump, an attorney hired by the family.
Kenosha police arrived, responding to a domestic incident, police said.
Raysean White was across the street and said he heard two women arguing when Blake arrived. He said he doesn't know what started the altercation.
White was filming the incident when Blake walked away, toward the driver's side of his car, and opened the door. In video that's now been seen millions of times -- more than 9 million views from Crump's Twitter feed alone -- police are seen closely following Blake and shooting him seven times in the back as he leans into the car.
In the vehicle were his three sons, ages 3, 5 and 8, Crump said. CNN has not independently confirmed this.
Blake is now in a Milwaukee hospital, where he has remained in intensive care. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was undergoing surgery, Crump said.
"It's going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again," he said.
Blake suffered multiple injuries, including a gunshot wound to one arm, damage to his kidney, liver and spinal cord, said Patrick Salvi Jr, another attorney representing the family.
"He had a bullet go through some or all of his spinal cord, at least one bullet. He has holes in his stomach. He had to have nearly his entire colon and small intestines removed," Salvi added, saying the family will file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting.
Jacob Blake is suffering from paralysis from the waist down, his father, Jacob Sr., told CNN, but he wasn't sure if the condition is permanent.
"Thank God he's alive," Blake's uncle, Justin Blake, told CNN. "We're just praying for a great recovery, that he may have a great quality of life and that his father, my brother, can enjoy him."
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Jacob Blake apparently went to break up a fight. Now, his family says he's partially paralyzed from an officer's bullets - CNN
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