Survivor of Rittenhouse shooting says he pointed gun at U.S. teen, tried
to disarm him
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[November 09, 2021]
By Nathan Layne
KENOSHA, Wis. (Reuters) -The only protester
shot by Kyle Rittenhouse to survive testified on Monday that he believed
the U.S. teenager was an "active shooter" and was trying to disarm
Rittenhouse when a bullet from the teen's semi-automatic rifle severed
part of his arm.
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, also testified that he had pointed his Glock
pistol in Rittenhouse's direction but that he never intended to use his
weapon and only advanced on the teenager as a last resort because he
thought he "was going to die."
Rittenhouse, 18, has been charged in the deaths of two men and with
attempting to kill Grosskreutz during racial justice protests on Aug.
25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where police shot and wounded a Black
man, Jacob Blake.
Grosskreutz, a former paramedic, was carrying a medical kit and said he
had come to help the injured, as he had at dozens of Black Lives Matter
protests prior to that night. He said he followed Rittenhouse because he
saw the potential for trouble and thought he might need to provide
medical aid.
"I thought that the defendant was an active shooter," Grosskreutz told
the jury.
His testimony was seen as critical in the most high-profile civilian
self-defense trial since George Zimmerman was acquitted in the fatal
shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in 2013.
Grosskreutz represented the only chance for lawyers from both sides to
question a survivor and elicit testimony on his mindset and actions,
which is crucial to determining whether Rittenhouse had reason to fear
for his life.
Rittenhouse's lawyers sought to portray Grosskreutz as dishonest, noting
that he had did not tell the police in his initial interview that he was
armed, and pointing out some inconsistencies in his early accounts of
that night.
The jury was shown video of an earlier encounter between Rittenhouse and
Grosskreutz in which the teen said he was going to the police.
Grosskreutz did not know at the time that Rittenhouse had just fatally
shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, but he had heard gunfire and said he began to
worry for the teen's safety as protesters pursued him down the street.
Grosskreutz said he followed Rittenhouse as protesters shouted things
like "Get his ass!" and as the teen stumbled to the ground. Grosskreutz
said he saw Rittenhouse shoot Anthony Huber, 26, who had swung a
skateboard at him, and that caused him to freeze, take a step back and
put his hands in the air.
Grosskreutz, who was holding his pistol during the encounter, said on
Monday that he believed Rittenhouse had "re-racked" his rifle,
effectively loading another round into the chamber so it was ready to
fire. Grosskreutz said he interpreted that to mean the "defendant wasn’t
accepting my surrender."
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Gaige Grosskreutz demonstrates how he was standing when he was shot
by Kyle Rittenhouse
on Aug. 25, 2020, during Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County
Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., U.S. on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Sean
Krajacic/Pool via REUTERS
"At that moment, I felt that I had to do something to try and
prevent myself from being killed or shot," Grosskreutz said, adding
he was thinking of trying to wrest the gun from Rittenhouse or to
detain him.
Rittenhouse, who has been charged with killing Huber and Rosenbaum
and attempting to kill Grosskreutz, has pleaded not guilty and is
expected to testify he acted in self-defense. Sitting next to his
lawyers, the teen took detailed notes when Grosskreutz spoke about
being shot.
PRESSING FOR INCONSISTENCIES
Under cross-examination, Rittenhouse's attorney sought to establish
that Grosskreutz had pursued the teen with intent to harm him - an
assertion Grosskreutz denied. The attorney, Corey Chirafisi, also
pressed Grosskreutz on why he did not tell police in an interview
right after the shooting that he was armed.
Chirafisi showed a photo around the time Rittenhouse fired his
AR-15-style rifle to try to portray Grosskreutz as a threat, saying
the teen did not fire when his hands were up and only did so when he
dropped his hands and moved toward Rittenhouse.
Grosskreutz said initially that the still image showed his "bicep
being vaporized" and denied it was the act of pointing his pistol in
Rittenhouse's direction that caused the defendant to fire.
But Chirafisi pressed Grosskreutz further, asking: "When you were
standing 3 to 5 feet from him with your arms up in the air, he never
fired, right?"
"Correct," Grosskreutz responded.
"It wasn't until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him, with
your gun, now your hands down pointed at him, that he fired, right?"
Chirafisi continued.
"Correct," Grosskreutz said.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Ross Colvin, Howard Goller
and Peter Cooney)
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