KENOSHA, Wisconsin (AP) – The protester and paramedic volunteer who survived after Kyle Rittenhouse shot him on the streets of Kenosha testified that he pointed his own gun at Rittenhouse but did not intend or intend to fire them.
Gaige Großkreutz, the third and last man who was shot by Rittenhouse during a night of turbulent protests against racial justice in the summer of 2020, appeared on Monday at the murder trial against Rittenhouse and told how he drew his own pistol after the bloodshed began.
“I thought the defendant was an active shooter,” said Grosskreutz, 27. When asked what went through his head as he approached the 17-year-old Rittenhouse, he said: “That I was going to die.”
Rittenhouse shot Großkreutz in the arm and tore off a large part of his biceps – or “evaporated”, as the witness put it.
Rittenhouse, now 18 years old, is on trial for the murder of the other two men and the wounding of Großkreutz. The former youth police cadet from Antioch, Illinois, had gone to Kenosha with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and medical kit to protect his property from the violent demonstrations over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man white kenosha police officers.
Testimony was expected to resume Tuesday as the state nears the end of its case.
The prosecution has portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the bloodshed. His lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense. He could face life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges against him.
On interrogation by the public prosecutor’s office, Grosskreutz said he raised his hands as he approached the Rittenhouse and did not intend to shoot him. Prosecutor Thomas Binger asked Grosskreutz why he didn’t shoot first.
“That’s not the kind of person I am. That’s not why I was out there, ”he said. “I am not what I am. And definitely not someone I want to become. “
But during the cross-examination, Rittenhouse defense attorney Corey Chirafisi asked, “It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, walked towards him … did he shoot, right?”
“Correct,” replied Grosskreutz. The defense also presented a photo in which Großkreutz was pointed with the gun at Rittenhouse, who was lying on the ground with his rifle on Großkreutz.
Grosskreutz said at a follow-up questioning by the public prosecutor that he had no intention of pointing his gun at Rittenhouse.
The Wisconsin Self-Defense Act allows a person to use lethal force only when “necessary to prevent impending death or major assault”. The jury must decide whether Rittenhouse believed he was in such danger and whether that assumption was reasonable in the circumstances.
Großkreutz said he went to the Kenosha protest to serve as a paramedic, wearing a hat that read “Paramedic” and medical supplies and a loaded pistol. He said his license to carry a hidden weapon had expired and that he did not have a valid one that night.
“I believe in the second amendment. I am for the right of people to bear and carry weapons, ”he explained why he was armed. “And this night was no different from any other day. There are keys, phone, wallet, weapon. “
He said he went into action after seeing Rittenhouse kill a man just yards away – the second person Rittenhouse fatally shot that night.
While Großkreutz said he never verbally threatened Rittenhouse, defense attorney Chirafisi said people don’t need words to threaten others. They can do this through their actions, “like walking down the street with a loaded gun,” Chirafisi said. Großkreutz denied having followed Rittenhouse.
Chirafisi also said Grosskreutz lied when he initially told several police officers that he had dropped his gun.
Chirafisi also referred to Großkreutz’s lawsuit against the city of Kenosha, in which he alleged that the police made the violence possible by allowing an armed militia to walk on the street during the demonstration.
“If Mr. Rittenhouse is convicted, your chances of getting $ 10 million are better, aren’t you?” Said Chirafisi.
Chirafisi also asked Großkreutz whether he had told his former roommate that he only regretted “not killing the child and hesitating to pull the gun before emptying the entire magazine into him”. Großkreutz denied having said that.
Großkreutz, who was trained as a paramedic, testified that he volunteered as a paramedic during protests in Milwaukee in the days following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. Großkreutz said he participated in around 75 protests the night he was shot and offered help to anyone who needed medical help.
While Rittenhouse is white, as are those he shot, the case has sparked a racially tense debate over vigilance, the right to bear arms, and the riots that broke out in the US this summer over police violence against blacks.
Last week, witnesses at the trial testified that the first man shot, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was “hyperaggressive” and “aggressive” that night and threatened to kill Rittenhouse at some point.
A witness said Rosenbaum was gunned down after chasing Rittenhouse and pouncing on the young man’s rifle.
Rosenbaum’s murder sparked the bloodshed that followed moments later: Rittenhouse killed Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old protester, who was seen on a viewer video, who hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded Grosskreutz.
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Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin; Forliti from Minneapolis.
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