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“I was going to die”: Rittenhouse shooting survivor testifies at trial


One of three people shot by Kyle Rittenhouse at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, and the only survivor, testified at Rittenhouse’s trial Monday. Protester and volunteer medic Gaige Grosskreutz was shot in the arm that night. In trial testimony, part of which is shown in the video above, the survivor said he pointed his own gun at Rittenhouse. However, Grosskreutz also said he didn’t mean to point his gun, and had no intention of shooting Rittenhouse.

“I was never trying to kill the defendant,” Grosskreutz said. “That was never, ever something that I was trying to do and that moment. I was trying to preserve my own life.”

Grosskreutz said he had gone to the protest in Kenosha to serve as a medic. He wore a hat that said “paramedic” and carried medical supplies, in addition to a loaded pistol. At trial, the survivor said he went into action after seeing Rittenhouse kill a man just feet away.

“In my right hand, I had my Glock pistol. And in my left hand, I had my cellphone,” Grosskruetz said when asked what he was holding when he approached Rittenhouse. When asked about what he was thinking at the time, Grosskreutz responded, “that I was going to die”.

During cross examination at the trial, Rittenhouse attorney Corey Chirafisi tried to paint Grosskreutz as dishonest. Chirafisi accused Grosskreutz of lying when he initially told multiple police officers that he dropped his weapon before he was shot.

“So you, in these documents that you are filing in the courts, you are leaving out the fact that you had possessed a firearm when you were shot? Right,” Chirafisi asked. Grosskreutz responded “that is correct”.

Chirafisi also asked the survivor if he told his former roommate that Grosskreutz regretted “not killing the kid and hesitating to pull the gun before emptying the entire mag into him.” Grosskreutz denied saying that.

In addition, Chirafisi pointed to Grosskreutz’s lawsuit against the city of Kenosha. He alleges police enabled the violence by allowing an armed militia to run through the streets during protests.

“How this case turns out has a has an impact on your ability to try to collect your ten million. Right,” Chirafisi asked, to which Grosskreutz responded, “that’s correct”.

Chirafisi followed up by asking “so if he’s convicted, Mr. Rittenhouse is convicted, your chance of getting 10 million bucks is better. Right?”

“I’m not entirely sure how that plays out,” Grosskreutz responded.

Thomas Binger, Assistant District Attorney (questioning shooting witness Gaige Grosskreutz): “Did you witness him fire a shot into Mr. Huber’s chest?”

Grosskreutz: “I did.”

Binger: “So, when you come upon the defendant at this point, do you recall what you were holding in your hands?

Grosskreutz: “I do.”

Binger: “What were you holding?”

Grosskreutz: “In my right hand, I had my Glock pistol. And in my left hand, I had my cellphone.”

Binger: “What was going through your mind at this particular moment?”

Grosskreutz: “That I was going to die.”

“Binger: “So after you raised your hands like this. You saw the defendant re-rack the weapon?”

Grosskreutz: “Correct.”

Binger: “What did you think was going to happen?”

Grosskreutz: “In my experiences and in my inference, in that moment for the defendant had pointed his weapon at me and I had put my hands in the air. Re-racking the weapon in my mind meant that the defendant pulled the trigger while my hands were in the air. But the gun didn’t fire. So then by re-racking the weapon I inferred that the defendant wasn’t accepting my surrender.”

Binger: “Did you feel that he was going to point the gun and shoot at you again?”

Grosskreutz: “Yes.”

“So after the defendant had re-racked his weapon with the rifle still aimed at me. At that moment I felt that I had to do something to prevent myself from being killed or being shot or killed. and so I decided that the best course of action would be for me to close the distance between the defendant and I.”

“I was never trying to kill the defendant. That was never, ever something that I was trying to do and that moment. I was trying to preserve my own life.”

“Like I said, that’s not the kind of person that I am. That’s not why I was out there. That’s not why it was out there for 75 days prior to that, why I spent, Up until that point I spent my time, my money, my education, providing care for people, that’s not, it’s not who I am, and definitely not somebody that I would want to become.”

Corey Chirafisi, defense attorney, questioning Gaige Grosskreutz, shooting survivor: “When you were standing three to five feet from him with your arms up in the air, he never fired, right?”

Grosskreutz: “Correct.”

Chirafisi: “It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him with you gun, now with your hands down pointed at him that he fired, right?”

Grosskreutz: “Correct.”

Chirafisi: “You had said that you were looking for a non-lethal way to end this interaction.

Grosskreutz: “That is correct, yes.”

Chirafisi: “Yet you pulled your gun out and began, I’m going to use the word chase. You began chasing or running after a man who was running away from you. Correct?”

Grosskreutz: “That is correct.”

“Chirafisi: “You have now filed a lawsuit in federal court. Is that right?”

Grosskreutz: “That is correct.”

Chirafisi: “Did you read that?”

Grosskreutz: “Yes, I did.”

Chirafisi: “In that document. You again failed to mention that you possessed a firearm. Is that right?”

Grosskreutz: “That is correct.”

Chirafisi: “So you, in these documents that you are filing in the courts, you are leaving out the fact that you had possessed a firearm when this when you were shot? Right?”

Grosskreutz: “That is correct.”

Chirafisi: “And this is so to be fair. This is your testimony today. And how this case turns out has a has an impact on your ability to try to collect your ten million. Right?”

Grosskreutz: “That’s correct.”

Chirafisi: “So if he’s convicted, Mr. Rittenhouse is convicted. Your chance of getting 10 million bucks is better. Right?”

Grosskreutz: “I’m not entirely sure how that plays out. “