Jacob Blake is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of being shot in the back by a cop in Kenosha, WI … so says his father, who’s upset and wants answers.

Jacob’s dad says doctors are unsure if his son’s paralysis is permanent, but he’s en route from North Carolina to the hospital to be with him. The father says along with being paralyzed, Jacob has “eight holes” in his body from the shooting … though police reported he was shot 7 times.

Jacob’s father tells the Chicago Sun-Times he spoke to him Sunday morning and Jacob was getting ready to celebrate his son’s 8th birthday. Then, later that night, he got word Jacob had been shot and was fighting for his life … and then he saw the video of the incident.

The father asks … “What justified all those shots? … What justified doing that in front of my grandsons? What are we doing?”

The shooting of another unarmed Black man resulted in growing protests Sunday night in Kenosha, which escalated to violence … including a police officer being knocked out cold.

The unrest continued Monday, and a peaceful protest march through the city was again followed by violence and fires set to buildings after dark.

As we reported … Blake was shot 7 times in the back as he was walking away from cops and trying to get in his SUV. His partner and the couple’s 3 children were in the back seat of the vehicle screaming when police shot him. We’re told they are severely traumatized by what they saw.

An alternate angle of the shooting shows that Jacob appeared to be involved in a tussle with the officers before getting up and walking around to the driver’s side, where he was shot. A witness claims he heard the cops say Blake had a knife as they pointed their guns … but in fact, he was unarmed.